


Two Dimensional

by DunFunk



Category: Frozen (2013), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friendship/Love, Multi, Multiple Crossovers, Online Relationship, Personal Growth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-03-21 12:45:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 52,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3692823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DunFunk/pseuds/DunFunk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He wanted to forget Berk. Other than his father and his incredibly low number of friends, there was no reason for Henry "Hiccup" Haddock to worry about his home any longer. When he transferred schools and moved away, Hiccup was moving on. However, here he was, talking with someone back on Berk that he had never even met before on an application that hides who you are. "Olaf". He was so desperately trying to hide who he was from her but so desperately wanted to know her. From the beginning, it was never going to be easy. (Modern AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Escape

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Queen, The Shieldmaiden, The Hiccup](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/107877) by Jinouga. 



_Chapter 1_

**_Escape_ **

 

Hiccup. A nickname given to Henry H. Haddock III for as long as he could remember. It was one given out of love for a child born too soon. A little ‘hiccup’ that refused to fade and clung to life for all it’s worth, pulling through in spite of the many signs stacked against it. It was a name given by a loving mother and a proud father upon his first breath of life and will forever be etched within their hearts, though the meaning of the name has long since been lost upon those around him.

On Berk, most of the residents are people of brawn and accolades. Their large statures and feats of strength were the characteristics that people identify with and gravitated towards. In such skewed perspectives, a name like Hiccup could only be seen as weak and unworthy in the eyes of these people. The name could only garner more notoriety when coupled by the boy’s modest features and failed endeavors.

No, he wasn’t a person of brawn but a child of brain. He was bright, one of the brightest to ever live on the island of Berk. However, vast knowledge can get any man into trouble. A boy with both great knowledge and great curiosity could only get into much of it. This holds true for Hiccup. He was a boy that wanted to help others with only the most genuine of intentions. However, he could only fall short and fail spectacularly in the process.

Much ridicule was had at Hiccup’s expense throughout his life. Being the mayor’s son gave him protection from various forms of violence. However, mere titles couldn’t keep a boy safe and violence wasn’t the only way to cause pain. Hiccup was teased relentlessly while growing up on the little rock. Those that berated him varied from the older generations commenting on his weak stature to even his own relatives pulling malicious assaults on him. His own cousin had been the start of his torment through much of his life.

Sean Jorgenson, known to his peers as Snotlout, pulled all the punches he could when it came to his much scrawnier cousin. The boy and his peers would laugh endlessly at Hiccup’s failed attempts, unforeseen accidents, nerdy demeanor, weak body, even the nasally way he spoke.

Hiccup was an outcast far before he could ever be a part of anything. Most of the popular kids didn’t acknowledge him. Those that did were among the people to bully him. The smarter ones were the only ones of his age to hold conversations with him but never in the presence of anyone to antagonize him. Those that did received the same treatment. However, they were Hiccup’s only means of communication, even a poor excuse of friendship. The very few that once stood beside him had long since left the island. As for everyone else, he was a leper; totally avoided unless it was in their benefit to condemn him. In all senses of the word, he was alone.

Treatment like this could only last for so long and a boy could only take so much when faced with such an insurmountable wall. Hiccup knew for a long time but it was only until the latter end of his sophomore year did he finally have enough of his city. He finally had enough of his home.

“Dad… I want to go somewhere else.”

Hiccup’s father turned away from his desk to face his son standing in the shadow of his home office. Stoick looked to him, the reserved expression prominent on the boy’s face even in the dim light illuminating his desk.

“What’s this about, Hiccup?” Stoick asked in his powerful and baritone voice.

Hiccup flinched the moment his father spoke. Stoick “The Vast” Haddock was a barrel of a man and that was putting it lightly. There weren’t many people that could say they had the capability to look down on him both physically and figuratively. He was a great leader, excellent speaker, and one of Berk’s finest mayors to have ever been elected. All of this was another blow to Hiccup’s already small ego whenever he was compared to his father. He was simply the polar opposite of this living legend.

Another thing about his father was he wasn’t very fatherly. Stoick had many rules in his life. In recent years, those rules rearranged slightly. One of these rules now seemed to always be at the forefront of his mind. “A mayor’s first duty is to his people.” His duty to his people overruled his duty to his son.

However, Hiccup never held it against him. He knew his dad cared about him but also knew that there were many that relied on him. He also knew the real reason that brought upon the change. It had been several years since his mom’s… departure. On a cold winter night, a devastating car accident occurred. Large amounts of blood at the wheel, animal tracks on the scene, and a body never found. He could see why his dad had changed. This great man was trying to cope with the loss of his wife by engrossing himself in his work. Hiccup also knew that somewhere deep down inside his father was a small flicker of hope that she was still out there. That hopeful light continued to dim.

“Hiccup?”

The boy shook his head vigorously, pulling himself out of his thoughts. Right. He was here to ask something that he was very much not looking forward to hearing the answer to. However, this had been weighing heavily on his mind and he simply couldn’t bear it much longer.

“Dad.” Hiccup looked ahead of himself sternly, standing firm in resolution with both hands clenched tight. “I want to change schools…” The resolution faltered slightly. “F-for next year… I-I don’t want to go to Berk High anymore.”

Stoick continued to look at his son, slightly narrowing his gaze on him as he tried to perceive what the boy had just asked. His eyes widened in realization. Turning back to his desk momentarily, he took off his spectacles and tidied the various pieces of paper scattered about his workspace. Feeling content, he faced his son again and looked at him questioningly.

“Son, you know there aren’t any other schools on the island, right?”

Thank god for that, Hiccup thought. Of course he knew. Berk was small. Very small. It was a lone city on top of an island covered by mountains, forests, and wildlife in its usual cold weather environment. In the past, it was said to have snowed nine months out of the year and hail the other three. Now, it was a popular tourist spot for summer travelers looking for a cooler environment to vacation. Berk was a city island that could brag about being one of the most prosperous. However, it’s small size meant Hiccup’s reputation would follow him wherever he went on it.

“I know that. I still… I still want to go somewhere else.” Hiccup looked to his father, all sternness, all resolution, all willpower evaporated. His eyes were pleading, slowly but surely becoming red as subtle tears built up within them. “Please…”

His father looked at him with a defeated expression. It pained him to say those eyes weren’t an uncommon sight but it was rarely ever shown to him. Stoick knew people picked on his son. Of course he knew. He may have been dense on occasions but he wasn’t stupid. However, Hiccup never came to him about it. His son was stubborn in that aspect and it was unfortunate that it had come to this.

Stoick let out a dejected sigh, looking down to his feet as he thought about this. It wasn’t something he could easily decide on the spot. However, it didn’t make the answer any less clear. He rubbed the bridge of his head thoughtfully. There was one thing that Hiccup loved about his father. He was supportive. It was all he could do to make up for not being a better parent.

“Are you sure?” He looked towards his son, seeing Hiccup’s face lighten up knowingly. The boy nodded emphatically with his usual awkward smile that brought a small smile on his own beard covered face. Stoick blinked a few times as he looked down at his knees and intertwined his fingers as he clasped his hands.

“Alright.” Stoick answered, giving an affirmative nod. “Alright, that’s fine. Have you thought about where you want to go?” His voice was soft and comforting.

Hiccup was practically gleaming with a smile so wide, it seemed almost impossible. He immediately looked down to his pants and started patting on his pockets, putting his hand into his back left pocket and pulling out a folded pamphlet.

“Here.” Hiccup took several steps, bringing the piece of paper to his father. He continued on the moment Stoick’s large hands took it from him. “It-it’s not too far, either. Only five minutes from the docks on the mainland.”

Stoick nodded as he opened and read through the pamphlet handed to him. The school was well-known and respected, one of the top in the surrounding area. It was prestigious and had room and boarding for students from out of town. The docks that Hiccup was referring to were the ones that ferried between Berk and the mainland. His son would only be two hours away at most with only a simple boat ride. It seemed his son must have really thought this through. This, however, pained him for his son to put so much thought into going away. What a terrible father he was.

Letting out a soft puff, Stoick stood up and placed a gentle hand on his son’s shoulder and nodded. Maybe, it was for the best. He loved Hiccup immensely. He also knew that Berk was never meant for him. The boy was far too smart for his peers and far too daring for his elders. He was also too small for either of the groups to ever truly consider him.

“Okay, Hiccup, I’ll make the calls tomorrow. On two conditions.” He looked down at Hiccup and raised two fingers in the air. “One. You’ve gotta keep up your grades there. Just because I’m not around doesn’t mean you get to slack off.”

Hiccup chuckled and nodded his head lightly. Stoick smiled down at him. He wiggled his other finger.

“Two. Gobber’s going with you.”

Hiccup’s eyes widened and his mouth gaped open. In some corner of his mind, it was to be expected. He knew his dad would not go with him. He was a mayor. There was work to be done and he had to stay behind. He knew this and he also knew that leaving Hiccup alone could be potentially disastrous.

Stoick went on to explain himself. “Boarding school or no, close by or not, I can’t leave you alone there, son. You know how your mother would…” His eyes saddened immediately at the words, but he was quick to compose himself. “I know we can talk to each other but I need someone with you to make sure you’ve got all your limbs.” He chuckled lightly, giving a light tap on his arm. “Even though Gobber isn’t so good at that himself.”

The two started laughing together. Hiccup started rubbing the back of his neck with a quirked smile. “Yeah… I guess you’re right on that one.”

**xXxXx**

_\- Hiccup,_

_I just want to say that I’ve always found you attractive, even kind of cute. Can you meet me in the gymnasium after school? I want to talk with you_

_Alone_

_Meet me after school_

_\- Astrid_

He didn’t want to believe it at first. Okay, he lied. He absolutely, absolutely wanted to believe it. However, his conscious was telling him otherwise. Astrid was beautiful and smart. She was both popular and always the center of attention, though that attention usually came from the violence of when someone would ask her out or get a little too friendly with her. She always gave her not-so-friendly response. She was both beautiful and strong like the Valkyries in textbooks and legends.

Hiccup had been close with her when they were younger but all communication with her ended abruptly the moment their first high school year began. She was suddenly in an area he could never reach and she never looked back. That was the rational part of his brain telling him this letter couldn’t be trusted.

The idiotic and love-struck part of his brain that actually had evidence to say otherwise?

Astrid delivered the letter to his locker personally. It was discreet and she was clearly trying to be stealthy about it. However, it didn’t change the fact he saw her do it. His long time crush, Astrid Hofferson, gave him a letter that pretty much said she still thought about him. The thought of being able to talk with her again had already overturned the many reasons why he shouldn’t believe the letter. With that, in usual Hiccup fashion, he got himself into a mess.

When the school day ended, he went to the gym. The first day of the second school semester and it already felt like a Christmas miracle that arrived late. He was mentally squealing at the thought that he could somehow rekindle a friendship once lost. Years of torment and cruelty might finally go away. Maybe, just maybe, luck was on his side. Maybe, he didn’t have to leave.

As he entered the dark building, he took a small breath in his hand to make sure his breath didn’t smell. Right, smell was the reason why Astrid never spoke to him anymore. That beside the point, why was the gym dark anyways?

The moment the thought occurred to him, the lights went on in a flash, blinding him. As his vision returned, he began to dread not listening to the conscious. In front of him was Snotlout and various varsity team members. Everyone else around them were people he barely recognized but many had their phones out and ready.

Before Hiccup could question why they were out, Snotlout and his other friends immediately unleashed a barrage of paint all over him from every direction. Other members in the crowd began running towards him and began stripping him of his clothes while still splattering more paint over him. When the torment was over, Hiccup was left in his no longer tighty whitey underwear, curled up in a ball covered in a plethora of paint and his clothes scattered at all the corners of the gymnasium.

Yep… He. Was. Leaving. Honestly, he wished he never had to return. By the time he mustered the will to get up from the ground without slipping and crumbling back on the laminated floor to gather his clothes, the sun was barely overhead. He pushed back as much of the hateful and negative thoughts he could and made his way to the locker room which was thankfully still unlocked. He proceeded to clean off as much of the paint on his clothes and himself as possible before heading home. The trek was heavy and he desperately tried to bury all that had happened.

He wasn’t planning on telling his dad about what happened. Truth be told, he hoped his dad would never learn about it, even with the millions of pictures taken of his humiliation. Hiccup didn’t want to see his dad angry. The man was easily prone to anger. He was afraid the school would burn under his father’s ire. No, he simply didn’t want to tell his dad. Like usual, he’d bury the thoughts and memories as deep down inside of him as possible and leave it, maybe one day forget it. However, it was a very tough thing to forget.

Today, they went too far.

After that day, Hiccup was gone. No one saw him again at school after that day. Rumors started spreading quickly and people concocted various theories on what had become of the boy they bullied into a corner. All theories revolved around Snotlout’s constant torment. However, it wasn’t just him and all of them knew it. They simply refused to acknowledge it.

On that day, they went way too far.

**xXxXx**

Almost two weeks had passed and the boat ride with Gobber was only several hours away. The two of them were hurrying along but weren’t in a serious rush. Berk was a big place but it wasn’t very big in retrospect. Much of the island could be reached well within an hour or two. When the two finally boarded the ferry leading to the mainland, Hiccup gave one finally look over the rails of the ship. Gobber looked down at him then at Berk.

“Gonna miss the place there, Hiccup?”

Hiccup didn’t reply. He only looked at the city he was getting away from. _Getting away from._ That was more than enough to answer the question in his mind. Taking his luggage, he started walking away from Gobber and into the interior of the ship without giving his answer. He wouldn’t miss that place. There were only a few people he would miss and one of them was already coming with him. The only ones left were his dad and Astrid. Though, after that day, he already knew any dreams of her were too far gone to ever see the light.

The two hour ride was met with a one sided silence. Gobber spent the majority of the trip telling Hiccup of stories about the mainland and how he and Stoick had once ventured out there and done incredible things. The incredible things, however, the older man was a bit vague on the details. Oh, Gobber, always one to fluff a story. A part of Hiccup was glad that Gobber was so good at talking. It made the trip to the mainland feel so much shorter of a ride. He didn’t ask questions or press for details. He simply nodded and listened whilst looking out the window of the ferry. He’d be living away for a while. The thought was terrifying but refreshing. Finally, somewhere new.

When they finally hit port and got off the boat, Gobber went away from his wild adventurous stories to giving him actual information about where they were staying. The two of them would be staying at a recently constructed dorm building just west of the campus he was going to attend. He’d be rooming with one other person and Gobber would be one of the dorm leaders of the building. Great… Gobber in a leadership role. This was going to be a joy…

On a brighter note, he was only going to be living with one other person. Sure, he lived with only his dad for a while now, but his dad was… unreserved in his mannerisms. More times than he would care to remember, his dad would stroll through the house wearing nothing but boxers on his days off. He wished he could purge himself of all those memories.

As the two made their way closer to the building they would be staying at, Hiccup noticed a basketball court just outside of the building. _Oh, joy… Basketball…_ The thought came in the most dry and sarcastic tone he could mentally think to himself.

“Hey!” Someone called out to him, catching Hiccup by surprise. He saw a person running up to him. You could pick him out of any crowd with hair that white. The boy must have been about the same age as him. He was not looking forward to the interaction.

“Uh, yes?” Hiccup asked cautiously. If this person tried anything, Gobber was right next to him to back him up. There were several perks with Gobber being with him since the man was now a dorm leader there. There was a sense of security. He felt a little bad before, thinking the man would have been jobless if he left with him. He felt better and worse when he was told the good/bad news.

“Want to play some basketball?” The perky boy smiled, spinning the ball on the peak of his middle finger. Hiccup looked at him as if he were alien.

“Uh… I, um-”

“Oh, yeah.” The boy tossed the ball into his other hand, extending his now free hand to Hiccup. “The name’s Jack. People like to call me Jack Frost because of the… you know.” He tilted his head down slightly, showing off his almost snow white hair.

The gesture and comment caused Hiccup to snort in spite of himself. The nickname seemed oddly fitting for him, given his hair color and pale complexion. He’d later learn that the name extended further than just the aesthetics.

“Hicc- Erm, Henry.” He stretched his hand out and shook Jack’s weakly. “It’s nice to meet you, but I’m going to have to pass on basketball. I can’t even shoot, let alone play.” He said a little embarrassingly. He was taken by surprise when Jack threw his arm over Hiccup’s shoulders.

“Don’t worry about it, Henry. I can teach you. We’re going to be roommates after all.” Jack chuckled as he dribbled the ball and tossed it into Hiccup’s chest.

“Wait.” Hiccup said as he caught the ball in his hands. “How did you-”

“I was the lucky one with a room to myself until I got the notice a week ago.” Jack let out a hearty laugh as he patted him on the shoulder. Hiccup nodded knowingly, looking down at the ball awkwardly. “So, want me to teach you how to play.” Jack’s grin spread wide across his cheeks.

Hiccup turned to look at Gobber who had already taken Hiccup’s luggage away from him. The older man started shooing him away with a similarly bright smile as he left Hiccup to Jack’s mercy. Hiccup could only let out a soft chuckle, returning his gaze on the ball in his hand.

“Sure. Why not?” He replied.

It was a start. A good start. He was starting fresh and it was about time he learned something new. Plus, he had all the time in the world since he wasn’t starting classes until next week. Judging from how Jack was, he thought that maybe things could be different here. Things were starting to look a little brighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello AO3! This is my first story on here. This story is an adaptation of "The Queen, The Shieldmaiden, The Hiccup" which can be found on FanFiction.net for those interested in reading it. I started working on this story because I loved the idea of a relationship being built behind the guise of anonymity that most of us are so familiar with while on the internet. I also enjoy the character nuances of both Hiccup and Elsa and wanted to explore their relationship a little more along with their interactions with the characters of the world. The first few chapters are very similar but after that, the story becomes the one I want to tell. I look forward to seeing the end of this with all of you. I’ll also add small notes on each chapter about my thought process behind some details for those interested. I’ll try to keep it under a paragraph as to not detract from simply enjoying the read.


	2. Restart

_Chapter 2_

**_Restart_ **

 

Hiccup’s venture into a new place was both jarring but incredible. He found himself in a much more positive space that was completely unfamiliar to him. Jack did his best to introduce him around the area, seeing as Hiccup had never once gone beyond the borders of his little island. His new and energetic friend did a lot to push Hiccup when it came to showing him all that his new place of residence had to offer. He also went into teaching him about basketball. Hiccup went in having no experience with the game aside from the occasional sports channels he’d seen his dad watching.

This was what weighed the heaviest on Hiccup’s shoulders during his time there. He always berated his own failures. It was not an easy process to learn something new and he always felt the pressure behind each failed catch or stumbled dribbles. It would be a tough thing to get comfortable with to have people relying on him, and he wasn’t even a part of the team. However, Jack wasn’t one to give up on him.

Being around Jack was incredibly exhausting overall. Take away the basketball and the constant exploration, Jack was also very social. He was well known in the area and fairly notorious as a prankster. There were several instances of Hiccup waking up beside a Poltergeist or Exorcist laptop screensaver sat neatly beside him just before his alarm woke him up. However, these were far more pleasant and preferred than those done to him in the past.

As the week went on, he learned that Jack was indeed in the same year as him, a sophomore. Hiccup didn’t have his schedule yet and wasn’t going to get one until the day he started attending school. He was hoping for the majority of his classes to line up with his newfound friend. He was still new and Jack was the closest thing to being familiar if only for a week’s time. Honestly, Hiccup couldn’t be luckier. He finally had someone he could consider a friend after so long. With the way things were going, there were many more to come.

“Finally, some time to relax!” Jack raved as he trudged into their room and tossed his bag on his bed. He seated himself on it with a relieved sigh. He looked at Hiccup on the beanbag chair playing some Diablo. “Hey man, let’s play some ball!”

“I know what you’re trying to do and-”

“Aw, come on, you should absolutely join!” Jack cried as he plopped himself onto the ground beside Hiccup, his head resting on top of the basketball in their room. It had been a regular question for a few days now. Though it wasn’t in great strides, Hiccup had been getting better. His new roommate still required a lot of improvement in terms of movement and confidence, but he also knew that Hiccup was amazingly astute in terms of analysis and strategy. If it weren’t for that damn self-deprecating attitude…

“You know I’m still new and I’m not that great at it.” Hiccup let out a light laugh, eyes still focused on the game and not the pouted expression of the person next to him.

“Spoilsport. You don’t give yourself enough credit. Just you wait. I’ll have you on the team as the star player one of these days.” Jack immediately sat himself upright, snatching the controller from Hiccup and playing the character against Hiccup’s will. “For now, I’m going to clear these mobs out in two minutes and then we’re gonna hit the court.”

Hiccup attempted to retrieve the stolen device but struggled when Jack pushed his foot onto his chest to keep him from reaching for it. After a good thirty seconds of useless struggling, Hiccup crossed his arms and slouched in his seat. It was difficult to argue with Jack, but most of the time he really didn’t feel the need to. He had helped him out a great deal while being here and it was only fair to show some courtesy back. He also enjoyed the company of everyone else. It felt refreshing to be a part of something.

Once Jack finished the run in the game, the two of them were almost ready to head down to the court when they heard a knock at the door.

“Ey, Hiccup, ye’ in there?”

It was rare for Gobber to come down to his dorm room personally. Most of the time, Gobber preferred to relax and send him a text to meet up with him. Hiccup got off his bed and made his way to the door. What he was greeted with was a particularly large box in Gobber’s hands. Did his dad send him the rest of his clothes or something?

“Erm, hey Gobber… What’cha got there?” Hiccup asked curiously before Gobber shoved the box into Hiccup’s chest.

“What’re you doin’ leaving ol’ Gobber at the door like tha’? That thing’s heavy you know.” The larger man proceeded to pat the top of the box. Hiccup flinched when the box had suddenly shook on its own.

“No kidding.” Was Hiccup’s only reply as he eyed the box in his arms that he could barely keep hold of. He proceeded to bring the box over to the center of his room. Jack finally got his jacket on and went to check what the commotion was about. His eye’s widened at the sight of the delivery.

“Nice! We got a new beanbag chair?” Jack joked playfully. It was no mystery that Hiccup had all but monopolized the cushion after his very first time sitting on it. He saw Hiccup shake his head at the response before putting his ear against it.

“Definitely not a chair and definitely alive. Gobber, what’s in here- whoa?!” His head jerked away from a particularly violent shake.

“Present from y’r old man. Said it was a gift from a relative, apparently.”

Now he was really curious. First off, any present from relatives he got were literally only from his father. The rest were cards either from pity or obligation. Secondly, there hadn’t been any particular holiday that had passed by and his birthday wasn’t until the end of next month. If it was a birthday present, it came really early.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Jack poked his head over the box with sparkling eyes. “Open it. Ten bucks says it’s a cat!”

“Cash or punches?”

“Fifty, fifty.”

Hiccup only shook his head at the reply before be proceeded to open the top of the box. He felt a little stupid when he actually took a look at it. There were very obvious air holes in it. How could he not realize it was a pet the moment he saw the thing. Then again, why would someone send a pet to him?

When he opened the box, there was a metal cage and even more vigorous shaking. Jack groaned in response. It was a puppy, a little black puppy.

“You’re covering lunch and I’m keeping the punches as an IOU.” Hiccup smirked, causing Jack to grumble louder as he fell back onto the chair. Gobber walked up to the little devil as Hiccup pulled the cage completely out of the box and onto the floor.

“It’s a little rowdy one, tha’ one is. Don’t look like any breed I ever seen.” Gobber noted as he crouched down and placed his hand against the cage. The little pup charged its head against it before letting out a soft growl. “Mean lil one, too, Hiccup.”

“Hiccup?” Jack asked, looking at said Hiccup. The boy had yet to tell Jack about his nickname back on Berk. Dammit Gobber…

“I’ll tell you the story later.” Hiccup opened the door of the cage cautiously. “Hey there, little guy.” The little thing must have been upset it was locked up for so long. Maybe a little more room would do the job. Even with Gobber’s protest, he opened the door and cautiously put his hand near the entrance of it. “It’s okay, you can come out.”

“Tha’ thing’ll bite your smarmy finger off you, boy.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s only a little puppy.” Jack chimed as he crossed his leg and watched curiously. “I bet it couldn’t bite through a gummy bear.”

Suddenly, the dog jerked its head in the white haired boy’s direction, eyeing him while growling. That was a little surprising. Did it understand what he was saying? Maybe it just didn’t like how Jack sounded. Either way, that was another person it wasn’t particularly fond of. Hopefully, Hiccup would be able to remedy it later.

“Don’t mind him.” Hiccup cooed as he stretched his hand a little closer to the pup. It turned its head back to him and backed away wearily. He lowered his hand slightly and paused. He wasn’t really sure what was going to happen. He was trying to ease the tension and calm the dog by keeping his hand still. It seemed to be working, but he had no reference points to work from.

Everyone stood in relative silence for a few seconds as they observed what was going to happen next. The little black dog looked at Hiccup’s hand with exceeding caution. It started looking up to the boy’s awkward smiling face and back at his hand. Moving ever so cautiously forward, the dog started sniffing at the boy’s fingers. Nudging the palm a few times, he looked back at Hiccup and paused. Then, finally, it gently pressed it’s forehead into his palm, causing Hiccup to physically relax at the touch.

“Looks like he likes ye’- He’s eating y’r finger!” Gobber paled immediately after letting his guard down. Before he could react, Hiccup started laughing and gently pulled his hand out of the cage as the dog followed behind with its mouth clamped firmly on his middle finger.

“He’s not trying to eat me, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Hiccup reassured the man as he moved his free hand under the dog and pulling it onto his lap. The puppy was definitely gnawing on his fingers but it was far from anything painful or vicious. In fact, it sort of tickled. He started stroking its back, watching it relax in his lap and curl slightly, still biting at his finger and pawing at his hand.

As Jack got up to pet the animal as well, he noticed a letter inside the box. Taking it out, he saw it was addressed to Hiccup and handed it over to him.

“Hey, letter for you. Probably from whoever sent it.”

Taking the letter, Hiccup flipped it open with one hand and saw a simple note addressed to him from his father.

_Someone sent you a gift early and I thought you should have him now rather than later. Be good and stay in school. Also, I named him Night Fury._

Hiccup snorted at the name. Classic dad. He could practically imagine the awkward conversation as if he were in the room with him. His father was always a straight-to-the-point kind of guy and his way of speaking and writing reflected that perfectly.

“What’s it say?” Jack asked while looking at the letter but petting the small black dog.

“It’s just a letter from dad. He says the dog’s name is Night Fury. He didn’t say the breed though.”

“Cool name.”

“Not happening. I’m not going to name a dog with two words.” Hiccup let out a snort as he started wiggling his hand that was still being ‘eaten’. One thing he noticed was that the dog had yet to grow any solid pairs of teeth on the left side. Really, much of its teeth were underdeveloped except for the canines. Even those were still rounded off and far from being sharp. Then it occurred to him.

“Toothless.”

Both Gobber and Jack looked at Hiccup then at the dog.

“I’ll name him Toothless.”

“Really?” Gobber asked as if it were the strangest thing in the world. Jack shared the same expression. “Your namin’ senses are terrible.”

“At least Night Fury sounds cool, but… Toothless? For a dog?” Jack noted immediately after. Hiccup simply shrugged his shoulders.

“The name fits and I like it way more than Night Fury.”

“I don’t.” Both Jack and Gobber replied at the same time, causing them to look at each other.

The little puppy’s head snapped away from Hiccup’s finger and towards both Gobber and Jack as it leered at them. Hiccup only laughed as he lifted the dog into the air and looked at it.

“What do you say, bud? Toothless sound good to you?”

It let out a little bark in response as its tongue lolled out.

“Sounds like a yes to me.”

**xXxXx**

School had finally started for Henry Haddock, or Hiccup, and it was a significantly more pleasant experience than his last one, or any other one preceding it. Really, he should have left sooner.

As the weeks rolled by, Hiccup was desperately trying to play catchup with all of the classes he was attending. As a middle-of-the-year transfer, he had several weeks’ worth of work to catch up on. Luckily for him, he was a smart guy so it wasn’t much of a problem. The little puppy sort of was, though. He always chuckled at the excuse, “my dog ate my homework” until it actually happened to him in his third week of attendance. That was a fun joke for several days until most of his friends actually met the little guy.

Speaking of little guy, Toothless had suddenly become a very rowdy third roommate in his dorm room and an instant popular member in his group of friends. Anyone that saw him immediately fell in love with him, though the same couldn’t be said for how Toothless felt about them. Toothless was never overly fond of anyone else besides Hiccup, funny enough. The pup wasn’t even halfway up his calves but Toothless would act as the most unintimidating guard dog. He still didn’t know what kind of dog he was but never bothered to take him to a vet to check.

It took a hell of a lot of convincing to get the school to allow Toothless to stay in his dorm on such short notice. It did help that Gobber vouched for him as the dorm leader and promised to supervise the animal should any incidences occur. Little Toothless had now effectively become the dorm building’s mascot and pseudo mascot for the basketball team.

As for the basketball team, Jack was finally able to convince him to join them. _Convince him._ The lanky boy was all but forced into the basketball team thanks to the help of literally everyone around him asking, almost begging him to join. It was no mystery that Hiccup was definitely improving at the sport with the help of Jack and everyone else. Even with Hiccup constantly saying how he simply wasn’t as good as everyone else, none of them cared. They knew he’d get better and they also knew he had a knack for strategies. He would be a great member and they were not shy to say it.

It was the first time he had ever been accepted so openly and it sent him over the moon. Was this how school was supposed to be? Everyone treated each other kindly, there weren’t any fights from what he’d seen, you were actually pretty awesome if you were smart, and Hiccup was somehow normal in all of it. The concept was jarring but it was like a dream come true.

With his school days actually being such a fun time, it only made sense that everything felt like it was passing by quickly. Months had passed since his first day and he and Jack were practically known throughout the whole school. Really, Jack was the well-known one but Hiccup was usually always with him. Considering that they were roommates and miraculously shared the same classes, it was no surprise either. The funniest thing about it was somehow Toothless was even more famous than either of them. Dogs weren’t that uncommon so how the hell was Toothless so popular?

Either way, it was a nice feeling.

“Hiccup, watch out!” Hiccup heard a shout.

Snapping away from his thoughts, he gripped hard on his controller and started side stepping the oncoming attacks on the television screen. He let out a relieved sigh and started chuckling.

“That was a close one. Right bud?” Hiccup turned to the little dog at his side chewing on a squeaky Viking toy.

“Yeah it was a close one. You were standing there idly, and I thought you were in the inventory until I saw you not moving when the elite started attacking.”

“It’s not like it would kill me. I have a death cheat skill, remember?” Hiccup joked with the other person over the microphone.

Whenever Hiccup had some down time to relax and Jack was out of the room, he exclusively spent his time with his PS3 and playing with his friends online. Headset on, volume up, blanket over his shoulder on a cold night, chips and soda at his side, and lights turned off except for the screen. It was like paradise.

“Har, har. You and I both know that the skill only procs once every minute, and you used it earlier when you unsuccessfully dodged the horde of goat men spears. Also, didn’t you switch passives when we entered the third floor? Dying in the game leaves me in the position of having to revive you and when you’re surrounded by a wave of scary things, I can’t really get there to pick you up.” The other boy complained, causing Hiccup to laugh more.

“Don’t worry about it, Fishlegs. I’m playing again.” He reassured as he continued hammering away at the boss’s health bar.

Fishlegs was the only other person aside from his dad that he still kept in contact with back on Berk. They never really texted or called each other. There wasn’t a need to thanks to 21st century online gaming innovations. Usually, the two would play games and talk to each other about what was going on in their lives. Fishlegs was definitely one of those really shy kids that tried to stay away from danger. However, he was also one of the only few people to talk with Hiccup back at school. He had to respect him for that, especially with how skittish he was.

“Oh, right, we got a few transfer students here on Berk not too long ago. It sucks that you had to go.” Fishlegs commented sadly. The boy never got a chance to say goodbye to him or that he was sorry for not hanging out with him more. He made sure to tell him whenever he got the chance.

“Don’t worry about it, Fishlegs. I’m doing fine here and you don’t have to feel bad about anything. It wasn’t your fault.” Hiccup reassured as he frantically mashed the X button. “Anyways, who are the new kids? Freshmen?”

“Can’t really say. Again, their like you. Transferred in the middle of the year. Hiccup, did you really have to leave?” He brought up the sad topic once again. The two of them would have to hang out properly to somehow fix Fishlegs’ moping. Hiccup was the victim and he was the one consoling his friend.

“It’s not like I’m gone for the rest of eternity. I’ll probably move back when high school’s over, and there’s no way my dad’s not going to make me visit. We can hang out then.” He quirked a smile while petting Toothless who proceeded to move onto his lap, Viking squeaky toy still in his mouth. “Now, come on, back to the transfer kids. You brought them up.” He quipped.

“Right! Well, you know how Berk is, right?” Boy, did he… “You know how we’re, like, _only_ people from Berk kind of a place? Well, they’re definitely not from around here.”

“Okay… People move, that’s not surprising.”

“Yeah, well, there’s these two sisters that moved in and they’re, like, really pretty. Even their friend is really pretty.”

“Girls are pretty, great.” The dry tone was clear as day over the microphone. He was sure even Toothless could hear it, and he wasn’t even sure dogs understood the concept of sarcasm. “So, does this have a point?”

“I don’t think you understand. Okay, well, I can’t really convey ‘pretty’ with words and get you to see it.” There was a pause before Hiccup heard a gasp on the other mic. “Oh, I know! Okay, okay. Here. I think they’re prettier than Astrid.”

Suddenly, Hiccup straightened entirely, causing Toothless to jump from his lap and glare at him. The dog took a quick bite at his toe in protest before taking the chew toy and moving towards his bed. The exchange was completely lost on Hiccup as he tried to comprehend what Fishlegs just said. Prettier than Astrid? Next time, lead with that.

“Okay, you got me. Go on.”

“Well, first off, they’re rich. Really rich. On a scale of one to ten and your family was an eight, they’d be an eleven.”

Hiccup barked a laugh at the explanation. With a math savvy friend like Fishlegs, when he used scales and went over the scale, he was trying to convey a point.

“Off topic here, Fish. Pretty, remember?”

“Right! Uh, well, the prettiest one I think is a sophomore? Junior? I don’t know, but I hear she’s really smart. She’s blonde like Astrid but it’s way, way lighter. She also wears a braid like Astrid but it’s a little neater. I personally think she pulls it off better.”

This caused Hiccup to chuckle lightly at the comment.

“I didn’t realize this discussion was going to be a conversation about hair. What’s next? Makeup?” Hiccup joked which caused the other boy to stutter wildly as he tried to backpedal on his comment, causing Hiccup to laugh harder. “Alright, alright, Fishlegs. I got it. They’re pretty, rich, and waaaaay out of my league. Let’s change topics a little. Did you bring it up because you wanted to ask one of them out?” It wasn’t a serious question but it got the response he was hoping for. More stuttering and more panicking. Man, he missed Fishlegs.

“No! Well… I wish. B-but, actually, there is someone I’ve been wanting to ask out…”

Hiccup perked up immediately in curiosity. He remained quiet, waiting for the boy to say the name. The wait wasn’t long.

“I was th-thinking of asking Ruffnut.”

There was dead silence for a solid ten seconds. Hell, even the game audio went quiet when the name was said. Suddenly, Hiccup burst.

“Ruffnut?! You want to ask out Ruffnut?” He was totally flabbergasted by the mere thought of a shy kid like Fishlegs trying to go out with the exploding hurricane of the other half of the notorious twins. “Not kidding, you might die. Didn’t she try to bury Snotlout?”

“Only for a few hours. It’s her charm.”

“Also, no offense, but isn’t she kind of a moron?”

“A beautiful moron.”

Hiccup let out a groan. The dreamily way Fishlegs said his last comment spoke volumes about how deep the boy was in. Oh boy, there’s no getting him out of that hole.

“I don’t think any convincing is going to get you back to reality so I’m going to silently cheer you on, on this one.” Hiccup heard a laugh and a thanks in reply. He wished he specified that he was cheering him on but didn’t want to hear about her life story when the boy started going off about all of Ruffnut’s activities at school and how pretty she was. Hiccup didn’t even go to the school anymore and he had to deal with the gossip around it. Where was Jack to drag him away?

“Oh yeah, go to this site.” Fishleg finally stopped his love struck rambling to send him a text message. The text was a link. “Download that on your phone.”

Hiccup looked at his phone screen and back at the television.

“Why? What is this?”

“A few friends of mine made an app. It’s kind of like Facebook. It’s a social media site but more private and it’s mostly kids from Berk High that know about it. It’s actually pretty popular.”

“If it’s like Facebook, why would people use it?”

“Well, the great thing about it is that no one needs to know who you are. No sign up, nothing. Just make up a username and hop in a chat room. I don’t know why but people really like it.”

Thinking about it, that did sound interesting. “Isn’t this only for students at Berk?” The question was more of a precaution. He didn’t like being set up, though he knew Fishlegs wasn’t one to do something like that.

“Anonymous, remember? Also, it’s not really only Berk. It was my friend’s project and he also put it up on a website for testing. I’m sure there are others that aren’t from Berk. You’ll just happen to recognize the ones that are.”

Hiccup let out a huff and Fishlegs knew he was hooked.

“Alright. I’ll download it tonight.”

“Great! Back to Diablo. I need those stupid set boots even if it kills me.”

After another hour of gaming, they said their goodbyes and signed off. When he was nice and comfortable on his bed, he started downloading the application and was going to try it before going to sleep. Fishlegs wasn’t lying. The app was pretty cool. Sure, there were a lot of different applications out there but there was a novelty of having it made by people from where you lived.

The app itself didn’t require anything either. All you needed to do was put in an alias and set up an avatar. Even the avatar was optional. It also seems like the username and picture were tied to your phone which was why you didn’t need to deal with the monotonous setup. The one thing Fishlegs was wrong about was how it was like Facebook. It was nothing like Facebook. It was a series of chat rooms that anyone could set up and people can hop into it. You could add tags on it so that you or other people could filter out other chat rooms and find something you’d want to talk to others about. Simple but very interesting. Screw it, what could he lose making an account.

_Congratulations! You are now Dragon Rider._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, my story still lines up very closely with the "The Queen..." story where I drew inspiration. However, I wanted to flesh out the relationship with Hiccup and Toothless as I plan to have Toothless as a staple character throughout all of it. As for Fishlegs, I wanted to give him a much geekier persona to keep him and more inline with his movie counterpart. His personality will show more in future chapters. From here on, changes will become greater and will eventually detour completely from its source material and become my own storytelling.


	3. Names

_Chapter 3_

**_Names_ **

 

Hiccup spent a good portion of his free time chatting with various different people in all sorts of chat rooms. It was a little surreal talking with the same people that ignored him or bullied him. He was careful not to say things that might reveal that he was in fact Hiccup the Useless. Without that banner over his head, some of the people on there actually seemed like good, down to earth people.

Right now, he was enjoying a conversation with a particularly odd name that came across his own room a while back.

_Olaf: Yeah, I’m still a little new here. Everyone’s pretty headstrong. The Viking mascot really suits the school._

_Dragon Rider: And the people living there. They say Berk used to be full of Vikings. Makes sense the relatives would be like that as well_

_Olaf: Aren’t you one of them? You don’t sound like you’re from Berk._

_Dragon Rider: You got me. Mystery solved, Sherlock_

_Olaf: Alright, no need to be snarky. Also, I can absolutely solve mysteries better than Sherlock._

_Dragon Rider: Sure you can. I’m also a real Viking that rides a dragon_

_Dragon Rider: Changing topics. You don’t really say much about yourself. Freshman? Got a name other than Olaf?_

He was immediately met with a whack in the face with a pillow. Turning his attention to the dark room, he saw Jack trudging back to his bed and mumble for him to go to sleep.

“Sorry.” Hiccup replied as he muted his phone and dimmed the light on his phone to the lowest setting. He was shocked to see that it was two in the morning. If it were Friday or Saturday, it wouldn’t have been uncommon for him to be up past midnight playing some videogames with Fishlegs and sometimes Jack. However, it was a school day and he was glued to his phone. This app was a little addicting.

_Olaf: Nice try._

_Dragon Rider: Worth a shot_

_Olaf: But, I am a sophomore._

_Dragon Rider: Cool. Same year. Gonna wish you luck dealing with Berk. You should probably get some sleep. We can talk tomorrow_

_Olaf: I’m the only that joined the chat tonight and you’re kicking me out?_

_Dragon Rider: Roommate smacked me with a pillow. If I don’t sleep now, he’s probably going to choke me with it_

_Olaf: Haha, fair enough. See you tomorrow, nerd._

_Dragon Rider: Yup. Nerd. Thanks_

_Olaf: Don’t mention it._

Finally, he clicked off his phone. Okay, he was sort of hooked on the app. To be fair, it helped him cut his hours severely on gaming. That’s a plus, right? His grades were still good so his dad had no problems with his new cellular activities to intervene. So long as he didn’t let it take over his work time, he was in the clear.

Getting back to the chatting on the app, it was sort of funny how he came across Olaf, or how Olaf came across him to be exact. After the first few days of using it, Hiccup never really joined any other chat rooms and only made his own, mainly rooms pertaining to dragons. All the people he came across were nerdy people like him, and he could pretty much guess the people behind the aliases that joined in. Namely, Fishlegs. Seriously, his name was his username on Playstation, Gronkle. He even used the same avatar.

As for Olaf, the person was an anomaly. He wasn’t sure about who Olaf was or if they were really that well versed at all on the subject. The person just happened to join into a chat titled ‘Dragons’ without knowing a single thing about the creature other than the fact they had wings and breathed fire. The person was smart for sure because Olaf could answer just about any scientific question that came up. Maybe not nerdy when it pertained to the mythological beasts but Olaf was still a cut above most people.

One thing that was for certain was they weren’t from Berk. The way they chatted was simply unrecognizable. Whoever Olaf was, they must have been new. Olaf said they were both sophomores so it was possible this person was a transfer, maybe even one of the recent ones. Then again, Hiccup couldn’t say he knew every student back at Berk so it could have just as easily been someone he never talked with before. Either way, Olaf was an interesting person to think about.

Lost in his thoughts once again, he was met with a flying pillow to the face and a loud groan.

“-ruining my beauty sleep, man! You know we need to be up tomorrow for the team meeting.” Jack groaned loudly. Apparently when Hiccup was lost in thought, he would periodically huff to himself. “Also, throw that pillow back. It’s the only one I got.”

Tossing the object back to his roommate, he tucked his phone further beneath his pillow and out of Toothless’s reach.

“I’m not even going to be a part of that game. I don’t see why-”

“Blah, blah, blah! You’re coming so get some sleep.” was the final end to the argument. Hiccup watched as Jack curled to the side and was about to return to his slumber. “Oh, also, don’t try any dumb excuses because I’m dragging you out whether you like it or not.” Jack snickered before the soft snores followed.

Hiccup sighed. It was getting close to three in the morning and he knew he’d be in for a rude awakening. Well, might as well knock out now. Before he succumbed to the night, he pulled the phone out one last time to check on the chat room for any final messages he may have missed.

_Olaf: Try not to hit anything with that big brain of yours, dragon rider. Night._

_Olaf has left the conversation._

He quirked a smile at the final comment. Funny way of complimenting someone. Sleep was taking a heavier toll on him than he thought because he had forgotten to close the application before going to sleep. Well, it shouldn’t really matter, it’s only one night. Finally closing his eyes, he proceeded to get lost in a dream where dragons and Vikings soared through the skies.

**xXxXx**

“Come on, are you still mad about that?” Jack complained as the two walked out of the basketball meeting. Hiccup looked downright put off while addressing him.

“You poured water on my face and dropped Toothless on me. I’m not mad but I’m probably gonna get payback.” Hiccup leered back at him, earning him a few snickers.

“The coach had to call _me_ to remind you to come in. It’s not my fault you were up until god knows when and couldn’t wake up to your own alarm. Seriously, why’d you put it under your pillow?”

“Toothless occasionally chews on it, but when the alarm goes off, that’s when the bite marks set in.”

“Well, you refused to wake up so I took matters into my own hands… well… paws.”

Hiccup groaned loudly as he bumped his head into his locker door before opening it.

“Also, you were definitely out of it the whole meeting.” Jack turned his eyes onto Hiccup’s notebook that he placed into his locker. “What were you doing last night? The app thing again?”

“Yeah. Just talking with some people back home.” The comment was casual but Hiccup’s expression fell. Bringing up home was still a sore spot for him.

“You don’t need to be hung up on them, you know. They don’t know the kind of guy you are.” Jack playfully punched him in the shoulder. A few days after he got Toothless, Hiccup told Jack about his experiences at Berk. He kept out the more aggressive details but the gist of it was general bullying. This seemed to fuel Jack and the others into pushing him to doing more things. “Also, they probably won’t recognize Mr. Growth Spurt here. Halfway through the semester and you’re almost as tall as I am! What the heck, man.”

The two of them laughed as Jack started to pat him on the back. Only the blind wouldn’t notice that Hiccup was growing. Maybe it’s his body finally deciding to kick it up a notch now that he’s finally done some physical exertion. Hiccup could feel the pain of his growing bones and Gobber sure as hell wasn’t going to let him shrink again. The man was practically pouring milk down his throat and saying it’ll make his bones big and strong.

Several of his other friends said that he should probably head to the gym with them and put some meat on them bones as well. What’s the use of being tall if you were a talking fishbone? Hiccup was still hesitant, however, to join them. He was pretty content with his already exhausting exercise on the court, and the recent practice sessions for the upcoming game only proved to be more grueling than before. Seriously, pain… _love it!_

“Hey, by the way, can I get your notes. I sort of slept in our morning class today.” Jack rubbed the back of his head with a guilty smile. Hiccup raised a brow at him.

“Nice going. Class that boring?” Hiccup reached back into his locker and handed him his notebook. “You know, coach is gonna kill you if you flunk a test.”

“I’m not gonna flunk! I’m pretty smart. I can get by. Besides, it is your fault.” The boy started flipping through the pages until he reached the end. He was caught by surprise when a picture fell out of it. Reaching down to pick it up, he saw that it was a picture of Toothless silhouetted by the sunset. “What’s this?”

Turning his head, Hiccup noticed Jack looking at a picture in his hand that he had taken not too long ago. Realizing that he had given him the wrong one, he immediately snatched both the notebook and the picture out of Jack’s hands and shoved it into his locker before calmly pulling out another one.

“Heh… wrong book.” He handed the newly produced notebook to Jack. His friend looked at him curiously before taking it.

“That was a pretty cool photo. When did you take it?” Jack asked casually, teetering on the subject. Hiccup simply shrugged, trying to play off the question.

“I was trying to teach Toothless how to sit and thought the sunset looked really nice.”

“Well, do more.” The boy chimed. “Toothless looked great! I bet he’d be the best model for pictures.”

“Ha. Yeah, sure. If only he would sit still for more than a second.” Hiccup chuckled as he started walking away from the lockers.

 “Hey! More time training and less time texting, right?” Jack snickered as he followed behind him. “At least you can show those off to people.”

“Like that’s going to happen.”

**xXxXx**

Hiccup was right about the day. Practice was in fact _grueling…_ The practice they had was an absolute nightmare of a run. The coach was running drills like they were fighting a war and it was an overall painful experience for everyone. It seemed like they were starting in a pretty big game and, though Hiccup was only a bench warmer right now, he was still required to work every muscle he had. He was glad the day was finally over. Jack had all but passed out on the bed once they got home, probably a mix of sleep deprivation, no thanks to him, and the afternoon workout must have hit him hard.

Hiccup on the other hand couldn’t get himself to sleep quite yet. His phone was calling to him, pun intended. He had forgotten it under his pillow and it was the first time he’d gone this long without checking on it. Picking up the phone in his hand, he was a little hesitant to open it. Maybe what Jack said earlier got to him a little? Why was he spending so much time on an application that was filled with people that tormented him?

Pushing the thought back briefly thanks to the pain pulsing through his body, he turned on his phone screen. When he opened up the app, he was caught by surprise.

_Olaf: Hey, finally awake?_

_Olaf: Not answering I see. Nerd talk got you?_

_Olaf: Okay, it’s lunch and you still haven’t said anything. Are you alright?_

Someone was actually concerned about him back at his old high school? That’s oddly reassuring. Well, Olaf had become a great person to talk with over the last few months. Then again, the only thing they knew about each other was that they were both sophomores and one of them went to Berk High. Olaf didn’t even know where he was attending.

_Dragon Rider: Forgot my phone at my dorm. Roommate dragged me out of bed_

Hiccup called Toothless over as he turned his console on and put on his headset. He didn’t feel like sleeping right now. He felt like mindlessly playing a game to take his attention away from his aching bones. His phone buzzed the moment Toothless hopped onto his lap. The dog was getting bigger…

_Olaf: Fine. I forgive you._

_Dragon Rider: Great! How’d your day go?_

_Olaf: Same as usual. Little sister annoys me and proceeds to hug me so I can’t stay mad._

He let out a laugh causing a groan from the sleeping occupant. Hiccup immediately shushed himself and Toothless who looked at him oddly. The dog didn’t do anything, he shouldn’t be shushed. That black dog let his annoyance be known when he pounced onto Hiccup, knocking him off the chair and onto the carpet.

“Tooth-Toothless! Sto-stop you stupid- arg! Dog!” Hiccup protested endlessly as Toothless began licking his face happily, not bothered in the least by his master’s displeasure. Hiccup could only flail his arm with his headset barely on his head anymore.

“Sounds like Toothless got the better of you, again.” He heard Fishlegs say over the mic. He lifted the dog into the air and looked at the screen to see Fishleg had accepted his invite to the party chat. Reaching for a chew toy, he tossed it under his bed which Toothless immediately ran after.

Pushing himself off the ground and back onto the chair, he adjusted his headset and straightened out his clothes.

“Yeah, Toothless decided to rebel against me and attempt a murder.” Hiccup heard Fishlegs chuckle. The boy was well aware of Hiccup’s new pet and how that little dog wouldn’t accept anyone else, even Hiccup, as a true master. Toothless was his own master.

Picking up his phone, he realized he had yet to reply back to Olaf. However, he already had a great reply in mind.

_Dragon Rider: Sorry about that. I was violently attacked by an evil monster_

That should pose some questions. He turned his attention back to Fishlegs as he opened up a game.

“Starting up some Black Flags. Wanna play multiplayer?” Hiccup asked. Fishlegs affirmed excitedly. As he was waiting for a response from Olaf, a sudden question posed in his head. “Hey, Fish, you know Olaf, right?”

The question was totally random and he wasn’t quite sure why he asked. However, when Hiccup thought about it, Fishlegs was the one still attending Berk that he still talked with. There was also a good chance he could be friends with Olaf since the two were the ones that join the chat room the most frequently. That and they were both smart.

“Uh… Oh! You mean the person from the app. Yeah, I know about him.”

“So he’s a guy?” Hiccup asked nonchalantly.

“What? Oh! You mean do I know him, know him. No, I don’t know him. I only met him in the chat.” Hiccup deflated slightly. There goes any leads on the mysterious person. Wait…

“So, wait, how do you know he’s a guy?” Hiccup really hoped the influx of questions wasn’t weird.

“I don’t know. I just assumed. I’m pretty sure not a lot of girls are on there. Also, you know the saying. ‘No girls are on the internet’.” Fishlegs joked as they started loading into a game session.

Hiccup chuckled with him, pulling his phone back up.

_Olaf: Evil monster is code word for pet, I assume. Either pet or sibling._

Hiccup quickly took his hand off the controller and started typing back.

_Dragon Rider: Ding, ding, ding. He’s a puppy_

_Olaf: Let me see him._

Hiccup quickly called Toothless over, though the dog was reluctant to budge. Recognizing the defiant look, he went with the only strategy he knew that would 100% work.

“Toothless, I’ll give you extra fish.” Hiccup cooed and immediately, the dog rushed to his side and onto his lap, purring as if he were meant to be born a cat.

“Really? You’re dog likes fish?”

“I thought it was kind of weird, too.” The two of them laughed. “Don’t know why. He just really likes fish.” Taking his phone and lifting it just above Toothless’ eager eyes, he snapped a photo.

“So, what are you promising him fish for?” Fishlegs asked curiously. “You’re not going to feed me to him, are you.” He snickered.

Loading up the image and uploading it to the app, he sent the photo of the pitch black dog curled in his lap.

_Olaf: Wow, he’s so precious. I’ve never seen a dog with green eyes._

_Dragon Rider: It’s a little bit on the lighter side but I’ve only seen a few with an eye color like that_

“Hiccup?”

“Hmm?”  He put his phone down at his side and put the rest of his focus on the game. Alright, most of his focus. A small bit of it was still on Toothless playing with the strap of his backpack next to him.

“What’s the fish for?” The boy on the other end asked.

“Oh, I was taking a picture of him.”

“Why?”

“Olaf asked for a picture.”

He wasn’t sure why but it sounded odd when he actually said it out loud. He just sent a random stranger he barely knew a picture of his dog.

“Is that why you were asking me about Olaf?” Great… he was regretting asking Fishlegs about that. Okay, no big deal. Just play it off. Nothing wrong here.

“Not really. We were just talking and Toothless came up.”

“Okay…”

Great, just great. He put himself in a not so wonderful position. To avoid any further questions about the topic, Hiccup quickly brought up what was happening in the game. Thankfully, Fishlegs’ attention for any topic about newly released games were at a maximum. The discussion was quick to change to the boy’s adoration for the game they were playing. Much of Hiccup’s pent up tension dissipated quickly. Allowing his friend to ramble on about the game more, he checked back with his phone.

_Olaf: Dad never lets any pets in the house._

_Dragon Rider: That kind of sucks. Toothless has always been good company. Maybe your dad will come around_

_Olaf: You named your dog Toothless?_

_Dragon Rider: Why does everyone bring that up? Toothless is a good name_

_Olaf: I sort of imagine dogs with… teeth… Does he not have any?_

Hiccup started scratching the underside of Toothless’ neck which caused the little pup to go limp and curl over, tongue now drooping lazily as he enjoyed the scratches. Hiccup crouched forward to see the barely visible teeth in the pup’s mouth. He decided to take another picture and send it.

_Dragon Rider: Pretty close to it, actually. I named him that because he was biting my finger and all I felt was gum_

_Olaf: He’s so adorable! I now approve of the name._

_Dragon Rider: Now I need approval for my own dog’s name, I see_

_Olaf: Absolutely!_

“Hiccup!”

Flinching from his phone, he watched as his character was stabbed through the back by a rapier. Hiccup winced at the sight.

“Didn’t see that coming.” Hiccup chuckled as he watched Toothless jolt out of his stupor and shimmy off of him and back to his chew toys.

“You might want to pay attention to the game for that matter. You’re guy was walking into the wall for almost a minute.”

“It’s fine. I’ll get the guy back.”

“I’m more interested in what lead you to walking into the wall.” Oh boy, Fishlegs was back on the hunt.

“Roommate came to bother me about playing another game of basketball.” That lie was terrible even by his standards.

“Doubtful. Normally if your roommate interrupts you, there’s a 70% probability of a fight that will occur, then a 40% chance he takes over the headset and starts talking with me. In the instance that doesn’t happen, there is no less than a 90% chance of you complaining about him taking control of the controller and playing in your stead. Considering the probability rate of total silence in your communication with him, it’s much more likely you’re lying to me.”

Wow… Fishlegs had dropped a math bomb on Hiccup’s own habits at his dorm. He groaned audibly causing Fishlegs to laugh. He was then met with a pillow to the side of his face and immediately protested the assault. Turning to face Jack on the bed, the boy’s head was firmly placed face down into his mattress, no pillow required. He was still out like a light.

“Well… I can’t disagree with you on that one. He just threw a pillow at my face and immediately went back to sleep. No matter what we do, we get a little loud.” Hiccup tossed the pillow on top of Jack’s back, who proceeded to pull the pillow off his back and under his head as though it were the most natural thing to do.

“Yep! My probabilities only have a 7.6% chance of being wrong once I’ve established a firm statistic on it. Also, since you went through the effort to lie means that what you were trying to hide involves a previous discussion.”

Hiccup’s face paled. Was he really that predictable? Maybe Fishlegs was the real detective in all of this. Man, it would be odd seeing Fishlegs as a detective but somehow fitting.

“I don’t assume you have probabilities on that, right?”

“About a 75% chance.”

_Great…_

“I was chatting on your stupid app, okay?” He finally responded with a huff whilst sprinting on a rooftop and chasing a sprinter. He could only guess it was Fishlegs.

“Oh. That’s not so bad. Although, you shouldn’t run and text.”

“Shut up.” The two chuckled.

“Why’d you have to lie about it? Oh… Olaf?”

“I was just distracted, alright. Your app is very addicting.”

“My friend’s app.”

“Arg! Your _friend’s_ app is very addicting. Also, tell him good job. It’s actually really good. I haven’t crashed once.” He noted calmly. Deflection number two: casual compliment.

“Cool! I’ll be sure to tell him.”

_Success!_

“So what were you talking with Olaf about?”

_Failure…_

“More pictures of Toothless. They seem to really like him.”

“They? Um, Hiccup, I’m pretty sure ‘they’ is a plural and I’m also pretty sure Olaf is only one person.” Fishlegs could only snicker when he heard the whine from Hiccup and the thud that he could only assume was him collapsing onto the ground. He then heard various cries and protests about Toothless needing to stop licking his face.

“They, he, she, whatever! Can we get off the topic of Olaf?”

After Fishlegs’s fit of laughter and Hiccup trying not to pout even though there was no one around to see him, the two finally got back into just playing the game. To finalize the conversation with Olaf in the chat room, he sent a message saying a friend of his needed him for a little while and he’d be back later. Hiccup was smart but he was terrible at dealing with awkward situations. The unfortunate thing was that he was always the one to put himself in it…

**xXxXx**

After finishing up Assassin’s Creed with Fishlegs and Jack finally waking up and dragging him out to play some basketball, Hiccup finally found some magical time to rest and relax himself. It amazed him that Jack only had about an hour long power nap before being on full charge. Now it was Hiccup’s turn to crash. Jack offered him an invite to another friend’s dorm to hang out but he respectfully declined. With the practice earlier, Fishlegs grilling him, and Jack and the others playing on the court finally had its toll on him. He was going to power down or he’d die trying.

When Jack finally left the room, the first thing he did was pull out his phone and hover it over his head. He called over Toothless to hop onto his stomach, which the dog gladly complied. With one hand stroking Toothless’ back and another on his phone, he opened the app and found that the chat room he had left was still open. Inside was Olaf and Fishlegs.

_Gronkle: Man of the hour right here!_

_Olaf: Hey Rider_

_Gronkle: I gotta hop off. I’ll see you guys tomorrow_

_Gronkle has left the conversation._

Hiccup made a mental note to question Fishlegs on what they were talking about when he said that he was the man of the hour… Then again, he already had one half of their conversation right here.

_Dragon Rider: Man of the hour? Talking about me behind my back I see_

He didn’t want to come off as too nervous so he attempted to play it cool, or as cool as he would normally play anything off, which was not very cool at all…

_Olaf: A little. We were mostly talking about school, though. Toothless came up and so did you in the process._

_Olaf: Also, do you know Gronkle? You two seem like friends._

_Dragon Rider: Yeah, I’ve known him for a long time now_

_Olaf: Does that mean you go to Berk High as well?_

His fingers froze on the keys. What was he going to say? _‘Yeah, I used to go there. Then I was bullied out of school and decided to run away to another school. Oh, by the way, I’m Hiccup the Useless. You might have heard about me.’_ That was absolutely not going to happen. He did what any teenage kid that was paranoid about how some random person on the internet thought about him. He lied… Well, he technically told the truth but omitted various facts.

_Dragon Rider: Nope. I go to school out on the mainland. I just happen to keep in touch with Gronkle_

He almost typed Fishlegs but was quick to backspace on it. Hiccup didn’t want to go and give away his friends name on a website meant to be anonymous. Then again, would they even know who Fishlegs was? It was a nickname after all.

_Olaf: That’s too bad. I would have liked to meet you._

Hiccup’s heart skipped for a moment. He never really thought about meeting Olaf. Why would he be so nervous about meeting a person he didn’t even know… Okay, thinking that sentence through, it sort of made sense why he would be a little nervous. Then the question occurred to him.

_Dragon Rider: Hey, are you a guy or a girl?_

Aaaaand he immediately regretted asking the question.

_Olaf: Is this question by any chance influenced by the fact I want to meet you?_

_Dragon Rider: No! No, no. I was just a little curious_

_Olaf: Hmm… On one condition._

_Olaf: You first._

_Dragon Rider: No fair_

_Olaf: No whining. You asked, I responded._

_Dragon Rider: With demands!_

_Olaf: Big baby boo_

_Dragon Rider: Fine… Guy. You?_

_Olaf: Girl._

There goes his heart racing again. Seriously, he never met the person. Why would he be so worked up about this? Though, thinking about it again, he never had the smoothest track record when dealing with girls. Nine times out of ten, he would be a stuttering mess. Thank god for being faceless and only chatting through the internet. _Internet._ Right. Play it smooth.

_Dragon Rider: Interesting_

_Olaf: Why?_

_Dragon Rider: A girl who enters my chat room and is worried about me when I don’t reply. I’m touched._

_Olaf: Haha. Not so popular with the ladies?_

Man, that plan could not have backfired more spectacularly. It was only within his power to fail like that even without being face to face. He face palmed hard which caused Toothless to move up his chest and lick his chin lightly. His hand returned to grooming the dog.

_Dragon Rider: Ding. Not very popular in general, really_

_Olaf: Is that so?_

_Dragon Rider: What about you?_

There was quite a long pause in the response which was a little worrying. Hiccup suddenly felt his stomach churn while waiting for the reply. For some reason, he had a bad feeling about it. When his phone finally buzzed, he immediately popped it open.

_Olaf: Sorry. Got to go. Next time, okay?_

_Olaf has left the conversation._

She was gone before he could even type a letter. She didn’t even tell him why.

_Great…_

Maybe she was someone who just wanted to be popular and this was her way of getting there. She wasn’t the smartest person if that were the case. The chat room was named Dragons and consisted of math and science geeks that talked about mythical creatures. He placed his arm over his head and let out a dejected sigh. He tried to think positively about things that could happen in the future. Summer would be soon. He at least had that to look forward to.

_At least she was fun to talk to… Was._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is I believe the largest chapter I've made thus far. Much of this chapter is meant to establish subtle nuances of the characters and how they interact with one another. I particularly had fun with Hiccup being caught in between two conversations and his not so excellent way of how he dealt with that. This was really fun to write. From here on out, the story will start branching away from "The Queen..." so there may be some changes in pacing. Ciao for now.


	4. Harbor

_Chapter 4_

**_Harbor_ **

 

It had been several weeks since Hiccup had last heard from Olaf. There was no friend’s list so he didn’t even know if she was avoiding him or simply not on. Of course she was avoiding him now. Why would she bother talking with him anymore now that she knew there was nothing to gain? Another Berkian looking to climb the ranks of the social status at the expense of someone else. He really had a low opinion of his home. However, he had every right to it.

Still, he did miss talking with her. She was definitely comfortable to talk with and many of the conversations they had were fun and refreshing. It was a weird thing to think about, really. Jack brought the energy and Fishlegs had the topical discussions. Olaf was, to put it simply, different. Both of his closest friends were fun to talk with but she was something else. There was an invigorating feeling when talking with someone that didn’t know who you were or what your past was. Behind the anonymity, there was magic. Well, there was no point reminiscing on it now. He’d probably never talk to her again and that was just depressing.

“Hey, Hiccup, there’s going to be a party to celebrate the game. You should definitely come by.” Jack asked more casually than most of his other invites. Regardless of how calm the boy was, it still freaked the hell out of Hiccup considering Jack had appeared out of nowhere in the hallway and right behind him. It was most likely the poke to his side.

Panting for a moment to catch his breath, he quickly composed himself and turned to his friend.

“I’m fine. I’m not really a go-to-parties kind of guy, you know?” Hiccup quirked a smile and gestured to himself. It was true. He had become more comfortable with talking to people now, but parties were still a social event that he couldn’t deal with quite yet. His life had turned on a dime and he was still readjusting. The other reason was…

“Aw, come on. We couldn’t have done it without you! You know you’re gonna have fun, right? Also, I’m sure there are a lot of people out there that are dying to _meet_ you.” The white haired boy gave a mischievous grin and wiggled his eyebrow when he threw his hand over Hiccup’s shoulder as they walked down the hall.

Hiccup gulped at the subtle implications, sparing quick glances to some of the people eyeing him. Forget the thought of being accepted, some of his peers were outright aggressive in trying to get his affection. If parties were a social activity he couldn’t deal with yet, the blatant affection was definitely something he’d probably never get used to.

“No, thanks.” Hiccup quickly picked up Jack’s hand and took it off his shoulders. “I-I don’t want to say I’m not interested in any of them but-”

“You’re not used to it yet. I get it, man.” Jack shrugged. “I still think you should call Merry. She at least won’t jump you.”

“She might shoot me if I step on a toe or something.” Hiccup laughed quietly while Jack let out a bellow. “I-I’m good. Maybe next time.”

Letting out a sigh, Jack shook his head and smiled. “Well, I’ll bring you back a slice of cake or something then. Got any plans once schools over and we’re on break?”

This was something Hiccup didn’t really think about, or want to think about. He never anticipated for school to end so soon. Then again, he never thought it would go by so quickly and smoothly. It was a little weird hoping classes would have lasted longer. Most of his friends were heading home for the summer and only a few were staying at the dorms. Those that were staying only stayed for summer school which Hiccup definitely didn’t need to go to. Jack was definitely leaving for a trip with his family up north.

“I take it you haven’t thought about it, have you?”

“No, not really.” Hiccup stated plainly as they entered their dorm building. “I was thinking about just staying at the dorm. Maybe get a part time job over the summer. I still got Toothless.”

“You could go home.” Jack said calmly. “I know Fishlegs wants to hang out with you. Seriously, why do you call him Fishlegs?” He chuckled before looking at his friend. “You can stand up for yourself, you know. You definitely have the legs for it too.” He tapped Hiccup’s calf with his shoe.

“I guess…”

The thought had definitely occurred to him. He also knew his dad would probably make him come home if Hiccup wasn’t actually planning on doing anything while still at the mainland, thus the reason why he suggested part time. He’d bring Toothless home and show his dad the small dog that nearly tripled in size. He really should take him to a vet to see what breed he was. There was a betting pool going on around Toothless. It was just a joke but now most of the sophomore year was in on it, even some of the upperclassmen.

He also wanted to see his dad again, really to thank him for letting him come here. He did miss his house and his father. Maybe the two of them could try the fishing trip again and this time he wouldn’t try to go hunting for a troll he thought he saw when he was eight. He really wanted to spend some time with him. The man deserved a proper thank you. Then there was Fishlegs. He definitely needed to hang out with him, especially with Fishlegs’s constant guilt he refused to let go of. He could also introduce him to Toothless. Hiccup knew that would be fun.

“I’ll think about it more when it comes around to it.” Hiccup commented as he opened the door to their room. Jack tossed his bag on the bed and quickly changed his shirt out as Hiccup plopped himself on the chair and Toothless cuddling next to him almost immediately.

“Plan on playing games while I’m away?” Jack jested as he threw his blue hoodie on. “I’ve been meaning to ask. You haven’t been using your phone as often.”

Hiccup visibly deflated in his seat, earning a concerned look from his puppy friend who immediately hopped onto his lap to cheer him up. Jack walked over and sat beside him as he was signing into his account on his console.

“I’m guessing you don’t want to talk about it?”

Hiccup let out a sigh. That seemed like a pretty convincing ‘no’ but Jack wasn’t one to back down.

“Was it a fight? You were practically glued to the thing until a little while ago. Then, you started leaving it at home. I mean, I do get better night sleeps though.” He chuckled, hoping to cheer Hiccup up slightly. All he got was a small crease on the boy’s lips. “You sure you don’t want to come to the party?”

The request was more of an invitation to forget about what was bothering him and to hang out with people that definitely wanted to see him. Jack might not have been enough to cheer him up but maybe a room full of friends could. However, Hiccup simply shook his head and gave a small smile.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing, really. I just haven’t talked with a friend for a while.” Opening the tab of his friends list, he deflated again when he saw Fishlegs wasn’t on. Worst time to not be on.

“Well, I tried.” Jack got up from his seat and dusted off his pants. He crouched down to pet Toothless one more time. “I’ll text you the address if you want to stop by later. I’m 90% sure that someone’s gonna force Merry into singing karaoke and that’s definitely going to get violent. No one wants to miss that.”

The two of them laughed and Jack patted him on the shoulder before he left the room. All that was left now was Hiccup, Toothless, Cheetos, and games. Today felt a little more depressing than usual but he’d at least get some time to take his mind off everything. He didn’t want to think about summer and he didn’t want to think about the chat room.

As the hours flew by, he was grateful that Toothless was willing to sit on his lap the entire time. The dog was smart, one of the smartest dogs he had ever seen. Hiccup was almost positive that he could understand the human language and recognize when Hiccup was feeling down. When Hiccup was bothered by something, Toothless would either assault him until he was in a laughing fit or simply relax on his lap or stomach to ease the tension. Thankfully, the black dog was going with the latter option.

The other nice thing about Toothless not leaving his side was that he was keeping him company. It was really unfortunate that Fishlegs hadn’t signed on yet. Usually, if the boy wasn’t on before 9 p.m. then there was a good chance he wasn’t going to get on at all that day. That was sort of a bummer. He would have liked to have been able to talk with someone to occupy his mind. He occasionally talked with Toothless because, well, you know, the dog can totally understand him. However, this was a situation where he’d actually want to have a back and forth conversation. He guessed it wouldn’t be today. Just another lonely night to waste away.

_Ding_

Hiccup flinched when he heard the sound. He looked down at the phone oddly. Jack had sent the address several hours ago so he was pretty sure it wasn’t him. Although, he did say he’d send pictures if chaos ensued, which was pretty likely. It could also be Fishlegs telling him he might be getting on a little late. That would have been nice. Not bothering to delve into his thoughts about the contents of the message further, he decided to actually check the message.

_~Hey~_

What the…? It was a random number. That’s a little odd. Most of the people he talked with were already in his contacts. Hiccup also didn’t think anyone would give out his number to anyone… Maybe? Of course someone had to, though. The proof was right here. He didn’t bother sending a reply and was about to place the phone back onto the carpet. Maybe it was a wrong number situation. He heard the sound again.

_~You haven’t been in the chat for a while~_

Hiccup felt chills run down his spine. This couldn’t possibly be… No… Suddenly, he immediately put his controller down and put all his energy into his phone. He quickly opened up the application that had recently been rotting away and searched for his usual chat room.

_Dragons [1 person(s) in the lobby.]_

His stomach lurched hard. There was a miniature battle going on in his mind on what he should do in that very moment. He was really, really hoping it was Fishlegs in that chat room and was playing a prank on him. Maybe it was just a random person in there and the text message was totally unrelated to it as well. Really, anything, anything would have been better than the person he was thinking was actually in the room right now.

With all his willpower that he could muster to possibly click a single button, he clicked on the room.

_Olaf: Hey, Dragon Rider_

Hiccup let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding and started panting heavily. Yep, literally any scenario would have been better than this. Why? Because he knew how to deal with all the other ones. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to deal with this. Hiccup had a _lot_ of questions he wanted to ask and he had absolutely no idea how he was going to go about asking them. For some unknown reason to himself, he was somehow able to ask this one first.

_Dragon Rider: Did you text me?_

Again, he wasn’t sure why, but it was a good starting point.

_Olaf: Yeah._

_Dragon Rider: How’d you get my number?_

_Olaf: I came back on a few days ago and didn’t see your chat room for a while. I opened up my own and Gronkle came in. I sort of asked him for it._

God dammit, Fishlegs… Did he really give his number to a stranger?

_Dragon Rider: Why did he give it to you?_

_Olaf: I told him I wanted to say I was sorry for leaving so abruptly._

_Olaf: Are… are you mad?_

In this very instance, Hiccup was dealing with a mixture of emotions. Was he actually angry? Maybe a tiny bit. Really, the emotion he was feeling was betrayed. With how their discussion had ended off, it seemed like the reason was obvious to why she left. There was a mixture of confusion, a hint of sadness and loneliness as well. Really, it was just a jumble and betrayal was topping the list currently. It didn’t help that he had weeks to stew in it.

_Dragon Rider: No, I’m not mad_

_Smoooooth one there, Hiccup._ Starting it off with a lie.

_Olaf: Yeah, you’re mad._

_What?_

_Dragon Rider: What do you mean I’m mad?_

_Olaf: When you’re okay with something, you say you’re fine, but when you’re upset, you’ll say you’re not upset._

Exactly how long had he been talking with her for her to figure these things out about him. Thinking back to it, he’d actually been chatting with her almost daily, actually daily, for near the entirety of the semester. Still… Was he that readable? Even in text?

_Dragon Rider: Why?_

_Olaf: I’m not sure why you’re like that. I just happened to notice it._

_Dragon Rider: Why did you stop talking with me?_

A part of him wanted to play it off like a joke. He wanted to simply revert back to how they used to be with each other before the disappearance. Ignore the problem and just go back to the way things were. A part of him didn’t want to bother with reasons and simply go back to the usual and him back to chatting with her. Really, she didn’t even have any obligation to be on to talk with him. He had no merit to his current feelings he’d been harboring.

But…

He remembered his last days at Berk. He wasn’t going to hope. To him, Berk was twelve days north of hopeless, and deep down in his heart he had grown cold for his home. There was very little redemption in his eyes. He wouldn’t allow it to fool him again.

_Olaf: Something happened._

“Great excuse there. Really, good job.” Hiccup said out loud bitterly, the sarcasm could cut through steel beams. He felt Toothless wiggle in his lap. The dog was sleeping soundly but somehow felt the tension in his legs. Hiccup pet Toothless and settled the pup as he looked back to his phone.

_Olaf: I don’t really want to talk about it but I want to say I’m sorry._

_Dragon Rider: Alright_

_Dragon Rider: Then let’s not talk about it_

Hiccup shut off the screen and tossed it onto his bed. He really didn’t want to deal with this right now and his bitterness got the better of him. Being in that chat room was bothering him far more than he cared to think about and simply opted to not think about it. He wasn’t going to allow Berk another chance. It was unfortunate that Toothless was asleep, Jack was out, Fishlegs wasn’t on, and he was in too much of a bad mood to go anywhere. Right now, he wanted to mindlessly shoot bad guys in the game.

He ignored the notifications sounding from his phone. There were a lot of pings that indicated the application message. There were even a few dings from text messages. Hiccup wouldn’t be bothered by it. He was now thankful for Toothless sleeping on his lap. With the dog there, he’d be even less inclined to leave his seated position. The game would be his escape. Come tomorrow, he’d delete the app.

The phone started ringing.

Hiccup snapped his head to the phone, his eyes wide in shock. The phone was continuously ringing now. She couldn’t be… No… Was she actually? After all that stubbornness telling him to keep his butt seated, he had to get up. Gently lifting Toothless off of him, he placed the sleeping dog curled on top of the beanbag chair. He got off of the ground and made his way to his phone that was still ringing.

His arm extended to the phone but didn’t dare touch it. Hiccup was still hesitant about answering. However, he knew it was her calling. He recognized the number that had randomly texted him. Suddenly, the phone stopped.

Feeling his shoulders sag, his body limped slightly and he fell onto his bed, landing on his knees. She really just tried to call him. Was she that desperate to convince him? Did she really want his forgiveness? Did she actually want to talk to him? He looked down at his phone as he readjusted himself into a seated position at the edge of his bedside. The phone remained silent. He didn’t want to reach for it to turn it on.

The phone rang again.

His hand launched to the phone and he saw it was the same number again. He was quick to answer the call. However, the anger was the first thing to resurface in his words.

“Listen, if you don’t want to talk to me, then-”

“I’m sorry.”

Hiccup’s words choked in his throat. First off, she was definitely a girl. There was no way that was a guy on the other line. Secondly, her voice was enchanting.

“I’m really sorry I left like that.” Her words did sound genuine, almost sad.

“Uh…”

“I looked like an asshole just leaving like that. I should have explained myself, but…” Her voice became slightly hoarse. Was she this choked up about it? “I really, really can’t tell you why I was gone. I do want to say that I’m sorry and I don’t want to stop talking with you because of…” She paused momently before continuing on in almost a whisper. “… this.”

The initial impact of hearing her voice had worn off slightly and now he was taking the chance to really take in her apology. It did sound genuine and the way she said it… Why did it sound so woeful? He started feeling a little terrible now. Maybe she had her reasons and he selfishly forced his own spitefulness onto her.

“Okay.” Hiccup’s voice was calm, much calmer than he had been feeling recently. “It’s okay.”

“Really?” He could heard the breath of relief when she spoke. It tugged at his heart.

“Yeah. I was a little mad but… You have your reasons and I’m not going to grill you for it.” He let out a chuckle and she started giggling softly.

“Thank you.” She sounded a lot happier and he felt himself lifting up with every word.

Hiccup started laughing as his head fell onto his bed.

“Besides, it’s not like it’s illegal to suddenly disappear, right? Unless, you know… you were kidnapped or something.”

Her laughter on the other end of the line was absolutely mystifying, and he could even tell she was trying to cover her mouth. Christ, almighty, she sounded beautiful. When it started to die down, he could hear her clear her throat.

“I’m still really sorry. I should have at least said something.”

“Not really. It’s your own thing and it’s not my place to know everything.”

“But, even a slight explanation would have helped.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to keep apologizing, Olaf.”

This time, there was an awkwardly long pause when he said the name. Alright, maybe it wasn’t long but it felt long in his head. It was the first time he said the name out loud and to actually use her username to address her seemed a little odd. Then again, Hiccup didn’t actually know her name.

Suddenly, she started laughing unreservedly. It was a fit of laughter that you would think could leave a person in tears. He started laughing with her, though he wasn’t quite sure why. Laughter was just contagious, especially hers.

“I’m sorry for laughing. It’s just…”

“Again with the apologies.”

“No, it’s just… Olaf is my dog’s name.”

Another moment of silence on the line. Now it was Hiccup’s turn to burst into a fit of laughter. She continued with her laughter again and soon they were both lost in it. It wasn’t even that funny but for some reason it was an absolute riot.

“Oh, man, so I just called you by your dog’s name?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t even know you had a dog.” Hiccup suddenly paused in thought as he looked at the ceiling. “Wait… you had a dog this whole time and you didn’t say anything? You have a picture gallery of Toothless!”

She started giggling again before answering.

“Don’t exaggerate. You sent two pictures and it was on the same day I found out you had a dog.”

“Even so, what kind of dog is it?” He chuckled as he got up from his bed and made his way down to the dog that had woken up. Hiccup grabbed some dog food and started filling up a small bowl for him. Toothless usually got hungry when he woke up from a nap.

“He’s a Chihuahua. Unlike Toothless, he’s all white. But, he’s smaller and way more adorable.” She started making clicking sounds and Hiccup could hear a little bark on the other end. He heard her laughing again and the sound of rustling.

“I’m assuming he’s right next to you?”

“Sleeps in the corner of my room. He’s my little Olaf.” The warmth in her voice was soothing and he didn’t realize the wide smile on his face as he looked down at Toothless eating. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

“Wait a sec, I thought you said your dad didn’t allow pets.”

“I said he doesn’t let any pets in the house. I didn’t say we didn’t have any. I actually have two.”

Hiccup barked a laugh. He tried to think back to that conversation. Maybe she didn’t say she didn’t have any pets.

“Spent a few minutes talking with you and I’ve already learned something new, _and_ you have two dogs to my one.”

“Yep! Olaf and Marshmallow. Marshmallow’s much bigger though. He’s a white Akita. He’s also my baby.”

“I take it Olaf sleeps in your room because he’s scared of him?”

“Actually… Olaf picks on Marshmallow so he had to stay in my room at night. We actually moved him a few days ago.”

Hiccup let out another uproar of laughter just imagining something like a Chihuahua picking on a dog four times its size. It was definitely a funny thought and he could only imagine what it would look like in real life.

As his laughter and her coos quieted, the two remained on the phone in contemplative silence. There really wasn’t much to say now. A lack of topics or simply wanting to remain silent, Hiccup didn’t know. Either way, it was much more pleasant than previously when he was angry. He felt infinitely better than he did in weeks and it was amazing. She finally broke the silence on the other line.

“Hey…”

“Hey.”

“Going back on topic of names… What do I call you?”

He tensed again. Hiccup didn’t actually think about that. It was a little weird to call them by each other’s username, now that he knew Olaf was a dog’s name.

“Why not Dragon Rider? You already know my dog’s name is Toothless so there’s no mix up there.” He joked. She giggled lightly at the notion.

“I don’t know… It’s a little tiring just typing it. Imagine having to keep saying it.”

“So phone calls will be a regular thing then?” Hiccup’s eyes widened the moment he said the words. That was a little bold. Bolder than any move he’d ever dared try, and he attempted to bounce over a fence with a medicine ball when he was six.

She was quiet for a little while and suddenly the silence was unsettling again.

“Maybe.” She said it softly but the tone didn’t imply a no. Just the opposite, which sent butterflies through him.

“Hmm… How about Rider?” Hiccup wasn’t thinking too deeply about another name to go by. He still didn’t want to reveal he was Hiccup. He couldn’t tell her his real name because she might be able to make the connection about who he was. It felt easier simply going by his alias.

“That won’t do. I actually know a Rider.” This caught Hiccup by surprise.

“Really? Someone else with the username?”

“Real name.” His eyes widened when she said this.

“Real name?!”

“Well… A sorta-nickname. It’s complicated.”

Hiccup only chuckled before returning to the topic. “Then we’re in a pickle because I can’t think of anything.” He snickered lightly

“How about Nerd Boy.” She giggled which caused Hiccup to bark a laugh.

“I feel insulted!” He mocked offense. “I mean, you’re not wrong, but still!”

She started laughing harder before composing herself. “I don’t know. I kind of like it. It’s cute.” She explained which caught him by surprise. “Besides, it has a nice ring to it. Dragon Rider, the Nerd Boy.”

“Great, now there’s no way of getting out of it.” Hiccup snickered as he imagined the smile on her face as she chuckled softly.

“Nope!”

“Then what do I call you?”

“Hmm.” She sounded out contemplatively. “How about Snow Girl?”

Hiccup raised a brow at the name. “You like snow?” He honestly never knew. He was learning more and more about her by the minute. It really was true, talking to her was completely refreshing.

“It’s definitely my favorite thing about the season.”

“So Dragon Rider, the Nerd Boy and Olaf, the Snow Girl.”

“Yep.”

“I feel like I didn’t get a say in any of this.” He started scratching his head as Toothless jumped up on the bed and at his side. “Well, I’m not really against it either.”

“Just to warn you, I intend to call you Nerd Boy from now on because it makes me smile.” This caused Hiccup to groan audibly. The joke name was now going to become a thing. God, he hoped that Jack would never find out about this. Dear god, he hoped no one would find out about this.

“I feel like I can’t name the chat room ‘dragons’ anymore because you’ll find a way to change the topic immediately.”

“Don’t do that! How else am I supposed to find my dragon rider?”

Hiccup flushed wildly. _My_ dragon rider. Slip of the tongue, surely. He continued on as if nothing happened. He peeked at his console that was still very much on and realized that he had several messages waiting for him. He quickly opened the menu to see it was Fishlegs online. He was also caught by surprise when he saw it was close to midnight. Exactly how long had he been gaming before he started talking to her? How long had he been talking to her? It couldn’t have been that long, surely. Could it?

“I think it’s time to head out. One of my friends got on and I’m pretty sure you’re going to need some sleep.”

“You’re going to play games and I’m the one that needs to sleep.” She joked.

“Hey, it’s a Friday, I’ve got nothing going on tomorrow, and video games are calling to me.”

“Fine. I actually do need to go to sleep soon or my dad might flip out.” Hiccup didn’t notice her pause as he opened his friends tab and sent Fishlegs an invite. “Would it be okay if I called you tomorrow?”

His fingers froze on the trigger button.

“Uh-Um… Y-yeah! O-of course! Of course. That’s totally fine!” Dammit Hiccup. He was doing so well up until that very moment. The stuttering mess had to come out just as their conversation was about to end. He could only hear her giggle again.

“Okay. I’ll talk with you tomorrow, _Nerd Boy._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small little note I wanted to add about Elsa. Sadly, there isn't much to work with in terms of Elsa's personality outside of her insecurity so I had to take some liberties with her persona. More of her insecurities will come into play later on but for now, I like to think that if all had gone well, she would be a more reserved but sassier Anna.


	5. Sail

_Chapter 5_

**_Sail_ **

 

“Hiccup!”

“Wha-what? Uh, yeah?” Hiccup shook his head, waking from his stupor. Jack and a couple of their friends started laughing and Hiccup flushed.

“Dude, you’ve been really out of it. Earlier, coach was making a big, fancy end-of-the-year speech and I’m pretty sure you were lost in space.” One of the other guys, Jamie, swooped his hand over his head. The rest of them nodded while Jack moved up to Hiccup and leaned on his shoulder.

“Well, he’s back on his phone again and judging from the starry eyes, I can only assume you worked out whatever was bugging you.” Jack observed his own fingernails casually before sparing a glance at his friend. Hiccup’s shoulders tensed. _Bingo._

“It’s nothing. I’ve just been thinking about what I was going to do over the summer.”

Everyone else crowded around him, moving their attention from the basketball court and onto the benches. They were curious about his plans since he was the only one that hadn’t said anything yet.

“Back to the island?”

“Hawaiian islands?”

“No, the one over there.” One of the guys pointed towards Berk.

“Or are you staying behind for the summer?”

“Stay behind!” One of them chirped. “I need a tutor!”

Jack lightly shoved the guy’s head out of the way and they all started laughing.

“I’m guessing you’re heading back to Berk, judging from the packing.”

“Yeah.” Hiccup started rubbing his arm and looking over at Jack. “Dad said to come home for a while. You know, spend some ‘father/son bonding time’. A lot of his work is slowing down so he has more free time.”

Several of them shrugged their shoulders.

“You should tell your dad to go snowboarding and bring Gobber along.” Jack laughed. “I bet the big guy can pull off some sweet moves with only one leg.” Everyone started laughing loudly save Hiccup who only gave a light chuckle and a smirk.

“Oi! I heard that!” Shouted a grumpy older man. Jack winced and started backing up behind a few of his buddies. Gobber started walking over to them, swinging his prosthetic arm at them. “Ye’ runts don’t even know the sweet moves ol’ Gobber ‘ere can pull off.”

“One handed pushups?” One of them popped his head up that Gobber promptly smacked the back of.

“Smartarse.” Gobber grumbled and turned to Hiccup. “Got most of y’r things packed ‘n’ ready? We’ll be heading back Monday.”

“Yeah, most of my things are packed. I don’t think Toothless will fit through the door of his cage, though.” Hiccup bemoaned. The dog was absolutely reluctant to go back into the metal cage. He was not looking forward to convincing him to either.

“Well, you’re gonna have t’ think of something. I doubt they’ll let a dog inside wi’out them caged.”

“I’ll figure something out.”

“Hey, let’s go back to some playing.” Jamie called out. “This talk about summer is making me miss kicking all your butts when I’m away.” He snatched the ball and started dribbling it towards the hoop. The rest started following behind him as they started up the next mock game. Gobber began walking back to the dorm, leaving Jack and Hiccup at the bench.

“Well, looks like you’ve got some work cut out for you, huh?”

“Yeah.” Hiccup let out a heavy breath. His eyes clouded. He was going back home. It was going to be tough trying to avoid people there. The place was small. Maybe a disguise would work?

“Who knows? You might have a lucky lady back home waiting for you, right?” Jack sat right beside him with an innocent smile.

“Mmm…” Hiccup let out absentmindedly with a long pause as he quirked a smile. His eyes widened in realization. “Wait!” He turned crimson as he jerked his head to Jack who started laughing maniacally.

“I knew it!”

“Knew what?” One of the guys called over. Jack waved his hands.

“Nothing, just some stuff about Toothless.” Jack assured them. “We’ll join in on the next game.”

The others nodded and continued on. Jack turned his attention back to Hiccup with infinitely more curiosity.

“It’s that person you’ve been talking with, isn’t it?”

Hiccup didn’t say a single word. He simply sat there with his hands clutched around his knees, cheeks enflamed. Why did Jack have to be his roommate again? Dang it… If only he didn’t walk in when Hiccup was talking with Olaf, or Snow Girl, on the phone. If only he had his stupid PS3 on so he could say he was just talking with Fishlegs who was about to sign off.

_But nooooo!_

Jack had to walk in when he was on his bed with Toothless on his stomach while he was laughing about a science explosion incident back on Berk. If _only_ he had noticed Jack come in and _not_ go on with the conversation for another thirty seconds until he actually did noticed Jack leaning casually against the door with the most devious smile he’d ever seen.

“Come on, man. You’ve gotta tell me something. I’m dying here!” Jack whined as he whipped his head up and gripping tightly on the bench seat. “Is it the same person you were messaging all the time?”

Hiccup didn’t move since he was still too embarrassed. Jack prodded his arm a few times before the boy finally nodding shyly.

“Nice. So are you two gonna hang out when you get back?” The white haired boy had a wide grin on his face that slowly diminished when he saw Hiccup’s sullen expression. “I take that as a no.”

“She doesn’t know who I am.” The comment came out weakly and Jack frowned. That was the problem then. If there was one thing that Jack knew about Hiccup is that he had a really low opinion of himself when it came to how Berk saw him. The boy had a lot more confidence now than when he first came off the ferry, but whenever any conversation turned to his home, Hiccup balled up into himself.

“I take it that you don’t know her name either.” Jack asked and he nodded. “Have you thought about meeting up?”

“No…” A bold faced lie and they both knew it. Hiccup was quick to retract it. “A little. It’s just… It’s easy to talk with someone when they don’t know anything about you.”

“You talk with me and the guys. You stutter for the girls.” Jack quipped and they both chuckled.

“That’s different. You didn’t know me.” Hiccup let out a dejected sigh. “When I came here, it was a clean slate and that’s what was great about being here. Back there I’m…” Hiccup the Useless.

“She doesn’t know you either.”

“But she’s probably heard of me. It’s Berk. The place isn’t all that big and my messes usually are.” Rubbing the back of his neck, Hiccup turned his head to the direction of the island. “The moment she figures out who I am, it’s just going to be the same thing all over again. I guess I want this to last a little longer.”

Jack looked over at his friend sadly. It sucked he couldn’t do anything about the inferiority complex Hiccup had. He really, really wished he could but that was a home field problem and he was only a spectator. Letting out a huff, he pressed on his knees and stood up.

“Hey, what’s the score?”

“Eighteen to ten!” Jamie called back to Jack as he passed the ball. “Like I said, I’m gonna miss kicking your butts!”

Jack laughed. “Finish up at twenty. We’re joining the game.” He looked down and started patting Hiccup on the back. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Right now, let’s show these guys why we call you _The Fury!_ ”

“ _You_ called me The Fury. Everyone else just joined in. S-seriously, did you have to start that? I’m embarrassed enough as it is.” Hiccup huffed as he got onto his feet the moment he saw Jamie score a three-point shot.

“If you’re not going to name Toothless Night Fury then I’m going to call you that.” Jack laughed. Hiccup could only shake his head while smiling. Even if Berk only saw Hiccup the Useless, he had a whole lot of people that saw him for something more.

**xXxXx**

“Hiccup, you in there?” There were several knocks on the door. Hiccup grumbled the moment Toothless darted around him and towards the sound. Great… He had just cornered the stupid dog by the cage and someone had to go and ruin it.

“What is it, Gobber?” Hiccup shouted back as he straightened his back and made his way to the door and opened it. Toothless started jumping against Gobber who promptly started petting him.

“Ye’ know we leave in an hour. Why’s Toothless not in the cage yet?” Toothless’ eyes widened and immediately backed away from the larger man, huddling himself into the corner at the opposite end of the room while leering at the two of them. “Wha’? Was it somethin’ I said?”

Hiccup sighed and started rubbing the bridge of his nose annoyed.

“I’ve been trying to for an hour now. I got pretty close and then you had to show up.”

“Oh…” Gobber looked at the dog still glaring at them then back to Hiccup with a guilty look. “Sorry ‘bout that, lad.”

“It’s fine. So, what’s up?” Hiccup let out a huff and allowed the man to enter the room. Hiccup went over to his bed and fell onto it with a thump.

“Nothin’ really. Just wanted to let you know that we’ll be leavin’ soon so you might want t’ say your goodbyes with the others.” The man moved slowly towards Toothless with a gentle hand but the black dog darted away immediately towards the other corner. He let out a harrumph at the action. “Really looks like a Night Fury when he ge’s like that.”

“Not changing his name. Also, I already told them I was leaving a little while ago so that’s taken care of. All that’s left is…” Hiccup gestured at Toothless who promptly glared back at him. “Yeah…”

Gobber shrugged his shoulders, looking at the dog and the obviously unoccupied cage. He went over to pick up the cage and brought it in front of Toothless. Toothless started letting out a low growl and Gobber quickly put the cage down in front of him and looked at Hiccup.

“Tha’s your job, then.” He pointed at his prosthetic arm. “Don’t want another one o’ these.”

“I’ll get him in there, eventually. Don’t worry about it. All I know is he’s probably going to get fat off fish after this…” Toothless’ ears perked and his head shot up. This caused Hiccup to laugh. “So, anything else?”

Looking back to the boy sitting on the bed, Gobber gave a small frown.

“Are you sure you don’ want a welcoming party? Ye’ know we can invite more people to dinner and no’ just me and your dad.”

Letting out a sigh, Hiccup looked down at his feet. “We’ve already talked about this. It’s fine. Just a small dinner to catch up is good enough for me.” Hiccup’s phone started ringing and he glanced down at it. “Anything else, Gobber? I gotta take this.”

“Nah. Well… Okay, one more thing. Don’t forget to pack y’r skivvies. Don’t wanna leave tha’ here while you’re away.” Gobber barked up a laugh as he started walking towards the door. Hiccup simply smiled as he let the older man out and closed the door behind him. He quickly answered his phone the moment the door was shut.

“Afternoon, Olaf.”

“Afternoon, Nerd Boy. And I thought we established it was Snow Girl. At least on the phone.”

“Hmph! I feel like I got the bad end of the deal here.” Hiccup let out a few chuckles. “So, what can I do for you on this _oh so lovely_ time of the day?” He said in a mock courteous tone.

“It’s only twelve and you’re already this sarcastic, I see.” She quipped and Hiccup shrugged as he made his way towards the cage.

“That’s my secret, Captain. I’m always sarcastic.” The two of them laughed.

“Almost ready for your flight?”

Hiccup’s body froze in its place. When he had told her he was going on vacation, he lied about his vacation plans, saying it was going to be a family trip to some island off the Caribbean’s. He didn’t even know any islands, but simply saying Caribbean’s was able to give him a temporary out. Why didn’t see say Hawaii? He at least knew some of the names.

“Uh, yeah. I’m almost ready. I just need to get-” He moved the cage slightly closer to Toothless who curled further inward in response. “-Toothless into the cage so we can get him to the house first.”

“Poor Toothless, getting left behind with a sitter.”

“Well, they’re not gonna let him on a plane, that’s for sure.” Hiccup pushed the cage forward more, causing Toothless to leap onto his bed and scurry away again. “Dammit, Toothless! Get in here!” He heard her giggling on the other line and a dopey grin covered his face.

“Well, I hope you have fun on your little vacation. I’m stuck here all summer.” She sighed.

“On Berk?” So was he.

“Yeah. Mom can’t really travel right now so we’ll be here the entire time. Thankfully, I was able to get out of summer classes.”

“Brainiac losing her touch in classes?” Hiccup commented sarcastically. He knew better but he was curious about the classes anyways.

“No, dad just complains and says Berk’s school system is too easy. He said I should take summer classes to learn more stuff.”

“Ouch. That’s gonna hurt Gronkle’s feelings, you know.” He let out a laugh. “He was having nightmares on the last history test. He thanked all the gods you can think of for the A he got on it.”

“Dad’s strict and he has crazy high standards. He’s also not afraid of talking with the teachers to bump up the lessons. It was a little embarrassing when he came in the first time.”

“That’s rough. I doubt it’s going to happen though since most of the people there aren’t the smartest… f-from what I’ve heard.” _Smooth, Hiccup…_

“Well, dad’s dad so I can’t complain. He’s always been like that.”

“Why’d your dad send you to Berk High anyways if it wasn’t good enough?” It was a question he was legitimately curious about. However, he felt his stomach drop when there was an awkwardly long pause that followed it. “I-I mean, you don’t have to answer if you don’t-”

“We’re staying with some relatives so we moved here for a while.” Olaf replied calmly which released a lot of tension off of Hiccup’s chest.

“I see. Well, hopefully you’ll have some fun during the summer there.” Hiccup turned his attention back to Toothless. “Alright, useless mammal. Here’s the deal. Get in the cage for one day and you get an extra fish every day for a week?”

Hiccup didn’t notice the soft giggles on the other line. He was too busy trying to read Toothless’ expression. The dog clearly wasn’t convinced.

“Fine, two weeks.”

Nothing. _Stupid freaking mammal…_

“Alright! A month! Final offer or there’s no deal and you’re stuck in this room with only the dog food and old water.” The threat was empty but he had to think of something. However, the bribe seemed to work as Toothless immediately perked up at the sound of a month of fish. Why the heck did his dog have to be obsessed with fish? Then again, it could have been worse. He could have been obsessed with steak or lamb. That would have been expensive…

“Sounds like Toothless isn’t being very cooperative.”

“Yeah, but I think I got him now…” Toothless slowly moved towards the open cage. He shot Hiccup another look that spoke volumes.

_I expect that month of fish._

Hiccup groaned. “Yes, yes, extra fish a day for a month. Now get in, we’re leaving soon.” The dog begrudgingly squeezed inside his metal prison and curled himself into a ball. “Stupid dog.”

The insult was barely a whisper but Toothless shot him another glare and let out a barked howled.

“I take it he didn’t like the comment?” He could practically see the smirk on her face.

“Yeah, well, he’s getting free fish so he has no right to complain.” The dog let out an indignant snort, causing Hiccup to huff. “Fine, he has a little right to complain. I’ll get you a bigger cage when we get there, okay bud?” There was no response. Well, he’d get him a better cage anyways. “Now that that’s finally finished. I guess I’ll let Gobber know I’m ready to go.”

“Heh, alright. I’ve gotta head out too. Have a safe trip and let me know when you fly.” She said warmly.

“I’ll try. Have fun yourself, Snow Girl.” As they said their goodbyes, he hung up but he was still looking down at the screen of the recently ended call. He really wished he could tell her he was actually coming to Berk. He really wished he could meet the mysterious girl that stumbled in his chat. However, it simply wasn’t the time. It pained him to think it was possible that there never would be.

**xXxXx**

“Alright, bud, we’re here. Ready to come out of there?” Hiccup looked over the rails of the ferry as it was slowly making its way to the port. Toothless let out a happy howl that seemed absolutely ecstatic about no longer being cramped up inside the metal Alcatraz. Hiccup stood in front of the cage and opened it, snapping on a leash around his collar. He smiled when he saw the little tag that said Toothless. Gobber and Jack gave up on trying to rename the dog the moment the nametag was around his neck, though Gobber did bring it up on a few occasions.

“I think I see y’r old man right there.” Gobber pointed towards where the ship was going to dock. It was unmistakable that the man was indeed his father. The man was a staggering six foot eight with an equally astounding bushy beard. However, what seemed different about the man that Hiccup noticed as he got closer was the wide smile on his face. This caused Hiccup to smile brightly as well. His dad clearly missed him. It wasn’t a one sided feeling.

When they were finally docked and the crew let the passengers off, Hiccup followed behind a sprinting Toothless as Gobber picked up the luggage that the boy had dropped when the dog dragged his master away. The energetic and not-so-small pup was running so fast that Hiccup couldn’t hold onto the leash, letting it go and causing Toothless to sprint faster. It jumped onto the large man and started licking his large beard.

“Haha! It’s good to see you to, you little rascal.” Stoick started petting the dog after he lifted him up and placed him on the ground. “How’s the not-so-little ol’ Night Fury fairing.”

“Toothless!” Hiccup shouted, both at his dog and answering his dad. He started jogging up behind and taking the leash back into his hands. “His name is Toothless. _Not_ Night Fury.”

Stoick raised his brows as he looked down at his son. He hadn’t seen Hiccup in half a year and the boy sure grew a respectable few inches taller. The boy barely teetered at the five foot mark and now he looked about five foot five. He even had that little extra girth on him. They’d have to shop for new clothes. He looked at Gobber questioningly.

“What have you done to my boy, eh Gobber?” He took Hiccup into a large embrace, lifting him in the air with a bellowing laugh. He placed his now heavily breathing son back onto the ground and placed a hand onto his shoulder. “The boy’s not the little bean sprout he was when he left.”

“Ye’ don’t even know the half of it, Stoick. The school’s been good to him.” Gobber walked over to his friend and gave him a powerful handshake, one developed from years of friendship. “The lad’s got a lo’ of friends over there. Good roommate too, not includin’ Toothless o’ course.”

The dog leered at him and let out a growled whine. Gobber raised both hands in the air in defense.

“I mean, of course y’re a good roommate too, but tha’s why I’m no’ including you.” The dog let out a huff and turned its attention back to Stoick and Hiccup. Hiccup was looking very flushed. “Hiccup’s got a lot of stories to tell you. Top of the class as per usual, but!” He gave Hiccup a powerful pat on the back, knocking the wind out of him. “He’s also one o’ the star players on the basketball team.”

“Gobber!”

“Really?” Stoick went wide eyed. He turned back to Hiccup. “I didn’t know you started up basketball, son.”

“Erm…” Hiccup could only rub his neck nervously, very much not used to both praise and looks of pride from his father. “Sort of… I didn’t really say anything about it. My-my roommate convinced me to join.”

Stoick let out a hearty laugh as he started puffing his chest proudly. Boy, did he want to hear more about his son’s adventures while away from home. He looked behind him for a bit then back to his son.

“Well, I look forward to hearing more about it, son. Right now, let’s get you home and settled in. Toothless too.” He crouched down and started petting the dog. Toothless proceeded to lick his cheeks, causing the man to chuckle before pushing the dog off of him. “Also, came here with a little company. Where did he run off to?”

“Eyy! Hiccup!”

The group turned their heads to the sound of the voice and the person running to them.

“Long time no see, man!”

“T-Thuggory?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first real cliffhanger I've had thus far. I'll try to not have this become a regular thing. This is another chapter highlighting the nuances of characters and how they interact with each other.


	6. Opportunity

_Chapter 6_

**_Opportunity_ **

 

The group didn’t spend a whole lot of time at Hiccup’s house. They simply stopped by to drop off his luggage and get Toothless acquainted with his room which Toothless immediately claimed as his second home. It was a very easy transition. He had been here before and the place smelled like Hiccup. Whatever belonged to Hiccup belonged to him. That was the pup’s logic.

After cleaning themselves up from the long trip, the group was quick to head for a nice dinner at a local burger shack. It had been a long time since both Gobber and Hiccup had any Berkian food so they decided to go with the most local place they could think of, The Iron Forge.

“Hiccup, my boy! It’s been a while.” The owner greeted happily. Hiccup gave a sheepish smile when the man started eyeing him up and down. “Seems you’ve got yourself some meat on them bones last I saw you. Been snacking on the burgers away from my shop, have you?” The man nudged his shoulders and Hiccup could only give a nervous chuckle.

He greeted the rest of them and gave a warm hug to his good friend and regular customer, Gobber, whom he hadn’t seen in a while. He also threw Thuggory in a headlock and started ruffling his hair affectionately. He hadn’t seen this particular boy in ages. The group didn’t need to order since the man had already called for the kitchen to make their special. It was a perk being friends with the owner of The Iron Forge. You’re welcomed with open arms and a free sit down meal. The only cost was the stories of when you were away. Hiccup totally forgot about that and was now very much reluctant about eating there even though he was the one to suggest it.

“Well, come on. Sit, sit.” His father gestured to the open booth at the corner of the restaurant. The group promptly moved over to the end as the owner walked off to deliver an order to another customer before getting another waiter to take over. The moment everyone was seated, all eyes were back on Hiccup. _Great…_

“Tell me, son. What’s been happening in your life since I last saw you?” His dad asked very curiously, leaning over on the table and listening intently with a large grin. Hiccup became even more sheepish. Another look he wasn’t used to seeing. Thankfully, before he could say anything, the owner pulled a seat from another table and scooted himself at the end.

“Now, now. Let’s not get hasty. The boy can wait. I’d actually like to hear from Thuggory and his tales first.” The owner beamed at the black haired individual. “It’s been almost five years now, hasn’t it?”

The boy in question nodded eagerly at the comment as he went into his story about his life outside of Berk with him and his father. Hiccup let out a sigh of relief now that he wasn’t the center of attention anymore. He was also interested in the stories of one of his best friends that had finally returned.

Thuggory was one of his closest friends when he was a kid. Both of their dads were college and military buddies back in the days. Their families have been close for a very long time leading to Hiccup’s friendship with the boy. He was actually one of the reasons Hiccup wasn’t picked on as much when he was younger. Thugs was a front line defense along with another friend he hadn’t seen in ages. Thankfully for Hiccup, neither of the two could be taken down and they were incredibly loyal, also hard headed.

The trouble, however, was they both left Berk at around the same time. Thuggory’s father was still in the military and was transferred stations, causing his old friend to move out of Berk and away from home for a good long while. The other friend left with her mom after a rather nasty divorce and Hiccup hadn’t heard from her since. At least Thuggory kept in touch.

“Yeah, they had my old man moving left and right. I honestly have so many school teams to my name, I don’t even know who to root for anymore.” Thuggory started laughing and everyone joined with him. “But, now that he’s retired, we’ll be back on Berk from now on and start rooting for my home again.”

“That’s good to hear!” Gobber tapped him on the arm. “Though… the surgery sounded none too pleasant.”

“Nah. He’s alright. He just put on a little too much pounds and it finally got into his stubborn veins.” Thuggory chuckled, trying to keep the topic light. The rest nodded knowingly. “Besides, now we can settle and still have the benefits. I’ve been wanting to come back to Berk since we left.”

“Ah, should have come back sooner. Hiccup here has gone and went off island for his schooling.” The owner commented, turning the conversation back to Hiccup.

“I heard. When did that happen?” Thuggory turned to Hiccup.

“‘Bout five’r six months ago.” Gobber answered with crossed arms and nodding. “I accompanied him over there t’ make sure he didn’t end up like my old good hand.” He pointed to his prosthetic. “Missing.” Everyone, even Hiccup, laughed at the dumb comment. Leave it to Gobber to make inappropriately funny jokes.

“Come on, son. Tell us about your time at Burgess.” Stoick looked at his son and smiled. It was embarrassing for Hiccup again with the conversation turned back to him. He shrunk into himself.

“Well… uh, like Gobber said before, I’m on the basketball team. Although, I don’t think I’m that good-”

“That good?!” Gobber slammed his hands onto the table. “The boy’s a right prodigy, he is.”

Everyone turned their attention to Gobber and Hiccup became even smaller. Oh great… Gobber was about to go on one of his fantastical rants again. This was going to be hard to explain away, and he knew how Gobber enjoyed fluffing stories.

“Stoick, I know ye’ don’t keep up with the sport but you should know that Hiccup is one hell of a point guard. Fast as hell.” The man waved his meaty finger at Hiccup. “Even his roommate, Jack, agrees.”

“Jack?” Thuggory’s eyes widened slightly.

“Yeah, Jack. The boy’s the one that practically put him on the team.”

“I’m not really that fast-”

“Maybe not next to tha’ white haired bairn, but you come a close second.”

Thuggory gasped and turned to Hiccup. “I knew it! That means you go to Burgess High School now, Hiccup?” He looked at Hiccup in disbelief. Hiccup could only nod slowly causing the boy the clasp his hand and cheer. “Hah! You’re part of the Winter Guardians basketball team then? They got second in the Finals Cup!”

Stoick’s eyes couldn’t get wider. Heck, even the owner looked at the boy in disbelief.

“I-it’s not that impressive o-on my part. I missed a few passes during the game a-and I was only a part of the team-”

“Scored the second to last shot!” Gobber chimed in thoughtfully with a firm nod. “If it wasn’t for that foul, the game would have been tied. The boy broke past three guards an’ scored just under the net.”

“ _You’re The Fury?!_ ” Thuggory immediately stood up from his seat with a shout that caught everyone’s attention in the building.

Dammit, Jack… Did he really have to make that name a thing? Oh man… Hiccup had absolutely no idea what to do in this sort of situation. He spared his dad a quick glance. The man simply looked ahead of himself in total silence. His dad seemed to be processing what he was being told at the moment.

Somehow, by some freak of miraculous nature, the conversation was still about him but steered to the championship match of the Finals Cup that Hiccup was very much a part of according to Thuggory who had been listening to it on the radio and Gobber who was actually there to witness it. When their burgers finally arrived at the table, the subject changed and turned to standard news of what has been happening on Berk. Thank god for that, Hiccup somehow dodged a bullet.

However, while he was eating, he couldn’t help but notice the occasional warm look that his dad would give him. It made Hiccup a little sheepish but also happy. It had been a long time since his dad had looked at him so fondly. Hiccup was never one to brag but he was glad Gobber was there to brag for him. He was also a little thankful that Thuggory was there to account for Gobber’s flowery tales.

When the conversation and dinner was over, they said their goodbyes to the owner, dropped Thuggory off at his house, and brought Gobber to his condo building. During the drive home, the two Haddocks had a relatively quiet drive back as the sun set over the mountains. They were never ones to mince words.

Finally getting back to their house, Toothless rushed at Hiccup with all his might, knocking the boy down and making sure Hiccup knew he was welcomed in this house that the dog loved so much. Having so much room to himself was like paradise to Toothless. The boy thought that maybe he would take the too large of a dog to a local vet to get him checked up and also figure out what kind of breed he was. The not-so-little betting circle could finally end.

“Uh, dad?” Hiccup called his dad who was heading over to his office. Stoick turned to face his son that was still on the ground and giving Toothless the usual affection. “Thanks… for letting me go to Burgess.”

Stoick looked at his son fondly. Hiccup noticed a very subtle hint of sadness in his dad’s eyes but it was far outweighed by the look of a very proud father. The man walked over to his son and picked him up from the ground. He gave him a gentle hug and a soft pat on the head.

“You don’t have to thank me, son. You’ve grown into a fine young man in the small time you were away.” He backed away and gave Hiccup one of the largest smiles Hiccup had ever seen. “You kept up your end of the deal, and I’m proud of you.”

Hiccup’s eyes grew wide and watered slightly. He couldn’t remember the last time he heard his father say that to him. He quickly wiped at his eyes and looked back up to his dad with an equally wide smile.

“Thanks dad.”

“Also…” Stoick’s face was stern now as he looked down at Hiccup. The boy was taken aback by the sudden change and felt nervous again. What was he about to say this time? “I have a third condition, now.”

Hiccup gulped down hard. What could he possibly want to ask after saying those things to him?

“Next time you end up at the finals, I want an invite.” Stoick’s face loosened and he smiled cheerfully again, causing Hiccup to let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. The man chuckled at his son’s reaction. “You don’t need to hide those things from me. I want to be there to cheer you on. Even if I’m the mayor of Berk, my son takes precedence.”

Quirking a smile and wiping under his nose, Hiccup nodded.

“You got it. Next time, I’ll definitely tell you.”

**xXxXx**

“Hey, Hiccup! Glad you could make it.” Fishlegs rushed over to him, panting slightly. Hiccup could only laugh when he saw his excited friend. Fishlegs was incredibly happy when he accepted an invite to go out to the arcade. How the heck could he refuse? This was finally his chance to spend some time with the guy. Maybe, just maybe, he could finally get Fishlegs over his guilt trip.

“Oh, right, I also invited Thuggory.” Hiccup gestured to the taller boy next to him.

“Long time no see, Frank!”

“Thuggory! When did you get back in town?” Fishlegs asked curiously and the guy started laughing.

“Came in about a week ago, a little before Hiccup did.” He patted Hiccup in the back.

“Where’s Toothless?” Fishlegs looked around Hiccup to see no excited dog next to him. Hiccup shook his head in response.

“Didn’t bring him. I don’t think they’ll let a dog into the arcade so I’d have to put him in a pet care, and that’s not going to happen. I did that once. _Never_ again…” He emphasized before shuddering at the thought. “Maybe next time, if we go to the beach or the park or something more outdoorsy.”

“Since when did you start going outside?” Fishlegs poked fun at him and poked at his less pale arms.

“He’s right. You’re a little darker than the last time I saw you.” Thuggory quipped. Hiccup simply waved them both off and gave a shrug.

“Fishlegs knows about Toothless and you met him recently, Thugs. That dog needs regular walks or my dorm will be the next Hurricane Katrina.” The group nodded knowingly. Thuggory learned firsthand of the energy in that little monster and Fishlegs heard it all over the mic.

They all started making their way through the shopping mall until they reached the south wing of the building. There stood the Arena Arcade and Fishlegs was the first one to rush towards it. He was enticed by a new Jurassic Park machine that was installed only a few months ago. Thuggory was quick to follow and Hiccup simply walked at a steady pace behind them. His pocket started buzzing. He pulled out his phone and was surprised when he saw the caller.

“Hey, guys, I’m gonna take this real quick.” Hiccup called over to them. Fishlegs was already too far inside the arcade for him to hear, but Thuggory gave him a nod and a wave. Looking for the closest bench, he sat himself on it and answered the phone.

“Hello there, milady.” Hiccup said in his fake royal accent.

“Really? Milady? Should I expect that you’re also wearing a fedora right now?” The girl on the other end teased, causing him to chuckle.

“If only. Anyways, how’s Snow Girl doing?”

“I’m good. I’m actually out with my sister right now. She’s been dragging me around for several days now and this is the only free time I’ve had in a while. She’s busy at an ice cream parlor.” She giggled and Hiccup nodded with a smile.

“At least you’re having a good time, right?”

“Yeah. My sister is definitely a joy to be around. How’s the Caribbean’s?”

Hiccup tensed slightly before answering. He was at the very least getting used to covering his tracks on the topic.

“Haven’t gone yet. Still at home getting Toothless settled down. It’s his fir- actually second time here. But last time he only spent, like, a few days.” That was easy to say because it wasn’t a lie. He actually was home and Toothless was still getting used to the house… well… not making a mess in it at least.

“That’s good. So, what are you up to right now?”

“Oh, you know…” Hiccup looked up at the arcade building he was supposed to be in right now. “Spending time with some friends at an arcade. Playing games not in my room. Outside nerd stuff.”

Snow Girl laughed softly. “With Gronkle, I assume?”

“Do you believe I only have one friend or something?” He jested and she laughed.

“He is the only one I’ve talked with, Mr. Popular.” She teased back.

“Well, you’re right. I’m at the arcade with him _and_ another friend of mine, thank you very much.” She let out a restrained laugh. There was something about when she tried to hold in the laugh that made it sort of cute. Then again, it could just be the laugh.

“Care to give a name or does this person have a special nickname?”

Hiccup chuckled but it was a little more hollow than the previous one. He was still reluctant to give up his identity yet. He was simply too scared to let go of this particular friendship.

“Meathead.” It was Thuggory’s old nickname when he was a kid. “He’s got a pretty one tracked mind.” Hiccup chuckled when he thought back to a particularly funny slide incident. The girl simply laughed at the oddball names that seemed to surround him.

“Alright. Meathead it is. Well, I have to get back to my sister, _Feisty Pants._ ” She had her own nicknames to throw. He could actually hear her sister calling for her on the other side. "I've got to go. Call you later." He nodded to himself and said his goodbye to her before putting his phone into his pocket. Just in time also because Fishlegs started running out of the arcade calling his very recognizable name loudly.

“Hiccup! You’ve got to see the new machines they’ve added. Seriously, it’s not just Jurassic Park in there. There’s a new robot fighting game and-and a mini arcade system that has all these card games in it like Poker, Twenty-one Blackjack, and… and…” Fishlegs fumbled as his eyes were caught off in the distance as he looked over dreamily.

“Uh, Fishlegs?” Hiccup waved a hand over the boy’s eyes but the rounder boy remained unfazed. He turned his gaze in the same direction and felt the air sucked out of him. In the distance, he saw two of the most beautiful girls walking by, arms interlocked, and laughing. “Wow…”

“Remember when I said we had new transfers at Berk?” Fishlegs asked and Hiccup nodded. “That’s them.” Hiccup’s eyes widened and turned back to his friend.

“They’re the transfers?!” He looked back at him in utter disbelief. He snapped his head back to see the girls turn around the corner into the west wing of the mall. He jerked his head back to Fishlegs still in a daze. “Really, that was them and not two young super models?”

The other boy could only nod. “They’re the famous sisters.” The words came out as if he were in a trance. So those two were the transfer students. Well, one thing was for certain, they were definite competition for Astrid and _definitely_ out of his league. His eyes grew sullen the moment he thought about her. It had been a while since he last thought about Astrid.

“Hey, what are you two still doing out here? Frank, weren’t you supposed to bring him in?” Thuggory skipped towards them and abruptly stopped. Hearing the second boy snapped Fishlegs out of his daze. He looked back at Hiccup.

“Oh yeah. Come on, Hiccup. No time to lose! The racing machine is almost cleared up. If we go now, we can still make the next race.”

“The race already started.” Thugs commented, gesturing his thumb over his shoulder. “You missed it by, like, two minutes.” Fishlegs’ expression sank and he let out a whine. Hiccup chuckled at his friend’s reaction and started pushing the boy towards the arcade. He reassured him that they could go the next round and find something else to try.

With all of them finally inside, Hiccup was quick to getting lost in the plethora of machines. The owner must have been busy because the last time he had been here was only a year ago. The place was now filled to the brim with various different arcade games, ranging from retro, fighter, shooter, and racers among other ticket machines and gambling games. Hiccup was thankful for the invite.

“Dang it! Really, Hiccup? Again?” Both of his friends protested as they got off the racing machine. Hiccup let out a whine.

“Aw, come on, guys. One more race. I’m sure you’ll win, this time.”

“Yeah, uh, no thanks, Hiccup. We’ve both lost five times each and you’ve had well under thirty seconds on us. _Minimum!_ ” Fishlegs let out a huff as he counted the quarters he had left. Hiccup let out a victorious laugh. Races were games he had absolutely no trouble winning. It was a gift.

“The Fury strikes again, I guess.” The black haired boy stated plainly before chuckling. Fishlegs looked at him in odd curiosity.

“The Fury?”

_Oh no… Not again…_

“Jeez, Hiccup, did you not tell _anyone_ about it?” Thuggory raised an eyebrow. It seemed almost inhuman how modest Hiccup could be.

“It’s not that big of a deal. Could we not bring it up again-” Both Hiccup and Thuggory were pulled behind one of the arcade machines forcefully. The two looked down at the culprit in shock. Fishlegs ignored their questioning and he simply told them to shush as he looked around the corner.

“Fishlegs, what’s happening?”

“Quiet!” He replied in a harsh whisper. Now, Hiccup was curious. He leaned next to the boy and peaked around the corner as well. His eyes widened when he saw the two sisters once again.

“W-what are they doing here?” Hiccup asked as if Fishlegs somehow had all the answers. However, the boy simply shook his head.

“I have no idea. Why would they even be in the arcade, anyways?”

“What in the world are you guys-”

“Shh!” Both Fishlegs and Hiccup shushed Thuggory aggressively as they looked around the corner. Thuggory let out a huff and looked around the corner with them.

“Holy-”

“I think they’re looking for someone.” Fishlegs noted. Hiccup nodded. The two sisters seemed to be looking around the area, not really for any games since their eyes kept following people walking by. Hiccup wondered to himself who they were looking for.

“I’m gonna go talk to them.”

“No!” Again, both Hiccup and Fishlegs loudly whispered as they pulled Thuggory back around the corner with great force.

With a loud grunt, the boy leered back at the two. “What’s wrong? Why not just talk to them.”

“Don’t you know who they are?!” The rounder boy whispered aggressively. When Thuggory shook his head, Fishlegs realized that he actually didn’t know who they were. He was literally not on Berk for several years. “Right… well, they’re students at Berk. They are _really_ popular. Maybe the most popular people in the school.”

“So?”

“ _So?!_ ” Fishlegs replied aghast.

“He doesn’t really care about those things, remember?” Hiccup gestured to Thuggory and himself. Fishlegs looked at the two and then it clicked.

“Oh. Right, yeah. W-well. Either way. The one with red hair already has a boyfriend. As for her…” Fishlegs pointed at the platinum blonde. “She rejects literally everyone that asked her.”

“I think they found who they were looking for.” Hiccup commented, still looking in the girls’ direction. When Thuggory and Fishlegs looked around the corner again, they saw a blonde and bulkier man taking strides into the arcade behind them. The red haired girl cheered and embraced him. The group watched as they walked away. Hiccup couldn’t help notice the blonde girl take one last glance in the arcade. For some weird reason, she looked a little disheartened.

Fishlegs let out a sigh and walked around the corner and Thuggory simply shook his head.

“Missed opportunities, man.” He tapped Hiccup’s arm and pointed in their direction. “You know, you can still go out there and talk to them, right?”

“M-me? No way, no. No, no. No. I-I-I’m good.” Hiccup went into a stuttering mess and Thuggory only rubbed his forehead and huffed.

“We gotta work on… that.” The boy gestured Hiccup up and down.

“You just gestured all of me.” Hiccup gave him a perplexed look. Thuggory simply nodded.

“A little confidence goes a long way. I bet you got girls all over you back at Burgess and you’re too shy to say anything.”

Hiccup flushed brightly at the comment as he went bug eyed in surprise. Then again, he wasn’t far off…

“Hey! The Jurassic shooter just opened up. You guys want to go a few rounds on that?” Fishlegs chirped as he came around the corner to find them. “We can swap out ever boss clear.”

Thuggory simply nodded and started walking towards him. “Alright. I’m in, but I call dibs on the first and second boss.”

“Come on, Hiccup!” The other boy called out to Hiccup before hopping towards the machine. As Hiccup started following, he looked back out to where the two girls had left. He then thought about the Snow Girl on his phone. Thuggory was right. Maybe a little more confidence could go a long way. It could also crash spectacularly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They were so close!
> 
> The chapter is more to introduce Thuggory as a character. I plan on having him as a key player to how the story moves forward. Also, I like that he is sort of an established character in the HTTYD fandom but I still have some flexibility with how I portray him. Tidbits of his personality is inspired by Becoming Lífþrasir, which is one of my favorite stories of the HTTYD fictions. Another thing I wanted to address is Stoick as a father figure. He's no stranger to playing the bad guy in stories either on purpose or unbeknownst to him. However, I like it more when he gets the opportunity to really play the roll of "dad".


	7. Wounds

_Chapter 7_

**_Wounds_ **

 

“So, I tell her, ‘That’s absolutely not going to work!’, but my little sister refused to listen. She assured me that a burrito pancake was totally possible. Next thing I know, our family is served slightly broken pancake breakfast tacos and I’m forced to clean up the mess in the kitchen with her.” Snow Girl let out a soft groan but laughed immediately after. “She then said that next time, it would be perfect. I just have to make sure to give dad a little warning so I don’t get roped in the cleanup.”

Hiccup couldn’t help but laugh when she finished the story. The two of them had been talking for several hours now while he was walking Toothless down the street. He only meant to walk him for an hour but immediately lost track of time when she called. It didn’t bother the dog in the least since he absolutely loved longer walks. It was usually Hiccup that called it quits.

“Sounds like an eventful morning. Did it taste good?” He asked as he pulled up next to a park bench and took a seat. Toothless immediately hopped onto the vacant spot next to him and started panting happily, giving Hiccup one quick lick on the face and all the way up to his hair, causing one side to stick up. “Come on, bud! Really?” He attempted to pat down the vertically standing hair with little success. “You know that doesn’t wash out.”

He heard her giggled on the phone when she heard Toothless let out a low, content howl.

“It was good. She did cheat and put a bunch of chocolate chips in it though, so I may be bias on the taste thing.” She clicked her tongue a few times and little barks immediately followed after. “So how’s your walk with Toothless?”

“Oh, you know. Same old, same old. I’ve finally gotten him to stop dragging me and actually _walk._ ” Hiccup leered at Toothless, and Toothless snorted air in his face. Hiccup started fanning his hand in front of him. The stupid one-month extra fish agreement was making Toothless’ breath fishy. Thank god the month was almost over.

“It sucks you couldn’t go on the trip.” She commented while babying her dog on the other end. Hiccup agreed.

A few days back while he was talking with her, Toothless couldn’t help howling defiantly at him after he left him outside his room when he got her call. He later had to cover and explain that his dad got sick so they had to cancel the trip and stick with a home stay. However, he was actually thankful for this. Hiccup had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to lie to her about the things he _wasn’t_ doing on an island he knew _nothing_ about. It was so much easier telling the truth but keeping out the fact that his home was on Berk.

“I can’t be too upset. I didn’t really want to go anyways. I much prefer having Toothless around.” Toothless immediately perked up and laid his head down on Hiccup’s lap contently. Hiccup smiled down at his canine friend. However, he was a little worried about the vet trip a week from now. He wasn’t quite sure how Toothless would respond to the examinations, but he needed to know if a puppy was supposed to grow this big this quickly.

“Yeah. I love being around my dogs as well. I wish Marshmallow could stay in the house, but that’s where dad draws the line with pets. Olaf is little so he gets a pass.”

“Marshmallow makes a good guard dog, though. Right?”

“One of the best. There were a few times we were woken up to someone trying to get into our home out west. When we went outside after hearing the barks, we would see little Marshmallow practically pinning a person to the ground and biting their arm.” Hiccup winced at the thought. He found it funny how she described a dog that could pin grown men to the ground as ‘little’. “We don’t really have to worry about it here, though. Nothing’s happened yet and the community is so close knitted.”

“Yeah. Dad says that Berk is like a village. ‘We protect our own’ is one of the mottos of the place. When you move there, apparently you’re one of their own.”

“That’s nice to think about. The island does seem accepting.”

“Y-yeah…” Hiccup let out an inaudible sigh. _Accepting if you aren’t a hiccup._

He noticed Toothless’ head shoot up and look around him. Curious, Hiccup also took a look around the area for what his friend was seeing. He saw beautiful blonde hair and his heart stopped and his mouth dropped.

“I-I uh… I got to go. I-it’s getting late and I need to head home.” Hiccup sounded panicked. “I’ll talk with you later.”

“Oh… Okay. I’ll talk to you later.” She answered understandingly.

“Night, Snow Girl.” He hung up quickly and threw his phone into his pocket. Immediately, he got to his feet. “Come on, Toothless. Let’s go.” He started tugging on the leash.

However, Toothless was having absolutely none of it. Hiccup tried his best to pull the dog in the opposite direction but Toothless didn’t back down. _Stupid dog!_ Why did he have to get so big? It was damn near impossible to coerce the dog away from something if he set his mind to it. The only thing that would work was-

“Two extra weeks of fish.”

Toothless’ head snapped up to Hiccup with widened green eyes.

“If we go right now, I promise to add two more weeks of-”

“Hiccup?”

“Astrid!” Hiccup’s body straightened instantaneously at the call of his name. He had yet to turn to her. “H-hi, Astrid! Hi Astrid. Astrid. Hi!” He turned to face her with an incredibly nervous expression. Toothless realized the deal was off so he continued to tug on his leash, pulling his master with him. “T-Toothless!”

Immediately, the dog was walking up to the blonde girl and the dog beside her curiously. Astrid backed away a few steps even though her own dog was moving closer. Hiccup tried desperately to pull Toothless away from the other dog but he refused to budge. Just the opposite, he was still moving forward with little resistance.

“Um, Hiccup. Is that… you’re dog?” Astrid asked as she looked down at the impressively large black dog sniffing at her grey pit-bull. The other dog didn’t back down even for a moment. It was actually walking around Toothless and nosing his tail. “Spike?”

The two dogs continued to sniff at each other before both Spike and Toothless started wagging their tails and Toothless lolling his tongue happily. A seriously tense part of Hiccup’s brain relaxed considerably. He would not know what to do if his dog _didn’t_ like another dog.

“Heh, um, sorry about that, Astrid. Toothless likes to- Astrid?” Hiccup turned to look at her and immediately noticed her looking at him. Was there something on his face or shirt or something? She was looking at him observantly, almost unfamiliar. “Uh… Astrid?”

“Huh?” She snapped out of her daze and looked up at him. “Oh, right, yeah. Um, it’s okay. Spike also gets like that sometimes. She’s pretty wary around other dogs. Aren’t you, Spike?”

Astrid knelt down and the dog immediately sat on her hind legs and started panting happily at the affectionate grooming. Toothless immediately nudged at Hiccup’s left leg in response. Hiccup looked down at the dog and laughed as he started to pet him on the head.

“Getting jealous there, bud?” Hiccup joked. The dog in question didn’t take the comment too kindly and jumped him. The assault caught him by surprise and knocked him down onto the grass as the dog started assaulting him with licks to the face.

“To-Tooth-Toothless! Sto-stop you stupid-stupid mammal! Arg!” Hiccup flailed as he was laughing and trying to push the huge dog off of him. “Ge-get off or no fish for you!”

This immediately stopped the attack and Toothless backed away, tongue still lolling and tail still wagging energetically. Hiccup got up from the grass and began wiping his cheeks while still sitting in the grass.

“Jeez, this is gonna take a long shower. Was that necessary?” Toothless moved up and gave him one good lick on the ear. Hiccup immediately shoved the dog’s head away and let out a sound of disgust as he tried to clean some of the saliva out of his ear. He heard what he could only consider as laughing from the stupid dog. “Arg! Really?! If I’m stuck in the shower, I’m gonna make sure yours is twice as long!”

“Looks like you’re having some trouble, Hiccup.”

Hiccup’s head snapped back to the girl in front of him. Now realizing that _the_ Astrid Hofferson had just seen what had happened to him made his cheeks flush red from end to end.

“Need some help getting up or are you-”

“Yeah! I mean, n-no, no. I’m good.” He pushed himself off of the ground hurriedly. “Uh, yeah. See! Totally fine.” Hiccup dusted himself off and spread his arm with that iconic awkward smile. She gave him a small smile as she turned her head and combed her bangs out of her eye.

“So…” Astrid looked at the bench in front of the statue. “Want to have a seat or were you leaving?” She pointed at the vacant spot. Hiccup snapped his head at the very spot he was running away from.

“Oh, no. I mean yes! I mean no.” Hiccup immediately stopped himself and calmed down as much as he could. “No, I-I’m not leaving, and yes I can have a seat.” He smiled at her nervously. She returned the smile and nodded. They stood in front of each other awkwardly until Hiccup realized he was the one who was supposed to be sitting. He immediately skipped to the bench and sat himself down. Astrid followed behind and took the seat next to him.

The two of them sat there in awkward silence, Hiccup sparing a few glances at the girl next to him. He watched as she pulled some treats from the little duffle bag around her waist and fed them to the pit-bull in front of her. He didn’t realize that she was also taking occasional glances at him. He had no idea how to break the silence.

“So, you left.”

God, he wished it was quiet again. He gulped quietly and nodded his head.

“I… uh-”

“H-how was it over there?” Did Astrid stutter? Did _the_ Astrid actually stutter? That seemed like a first. Maybe he was overanalyzing it?

“Um… it was… it was good. Really good!” Hiccup cheered as he looked nervously at the dog walking in front of him and towards the other dog. Toothless wanted treats as well. “Toothless, no.” He called sternly with a pointed look. He was met with the same look and a disgruntled huff as Toothless started walking away from the feeding hand. “Don’t mind him. He’s a little spoiled.”

“So… What have you been up to?” Astrid asked a little awkwardly in an attempt to keep the conversation going.

“I- uh- I do a lot of walking. As you can clearly see.” He gestured to Toothless that sat prideful. He saw her nod her head. “I also, um, picked up o-on basketball.”

Why, why did he say that? He did everything he could to avoid that topic and now he was the one initiating it?

“That’s cool.” She nodded to him and he looked at her in disbelief. Astrid Hofferson just called him cool. Well, she called basketball cool. It was sort of a proxy compliment, but he took what he could get.

“Th-thanks. My roommate convinced me to join. He was pretty pushy about it, but… I’m thankful he did.” He smiled warmly when he thought about his team. He wished he could hang out with them here on Berk, meet Fishlegs, Thuggory, his dad, and have the fun they had back there but at home… Fun at home… It seemed like a dream of a concept. He missed his team. Simply hanging out with them would be a blast.

“I see.” Astrid nodded courtly before handing another treat to Spike.

“Um… how have you been?” He asked awkwardly, trying to meet her face but feeling embarrassed to do so. It was tough on him. She was his long time crush and now she was sitting next to him. He wasn’t sure what the proper thing to do was.

“It’s been fine… I guess.” The girl looked at her hand absentmindedly as she started playing with her thumbs. “It’s been a little quieter since you left.”

“It has?” Hiccup looked surprised. Berk got quieter? Was that possible?

Astrid nodded her head. “School’s been the same overall, but…” Her speech paused and this caused Hiccup to grow more curious. “I don’t know. Since you left, not a lot happens now.”

His eye widened even more. He was only one person on an island full of hardheaded Viking-like people. By definition, they were a rowdy bunch. Maybe it was coincidence or something. It was very unlikely it was because of-

“Ow.” Hiccup grimaced when he felt Astrid punch him in the arm.

“What’s with that surprised look? It has been quieter since you left.” She looked at him a little peeved. “Contrary to popular belief, no one here is very exciting. No one really _does_ anything. You at least did little experiments and helped a lot with events.”

He looked at her in disbelief. “I- um…”

“At least you made an honest effort to _do_ things.” She looked down at her knees again. “B-but, anyways. It’s been boring is what I wanted to say.” She flustered as she quickly pulled out a few more treats to feed Spike at her heel.

Hiccup couldn’t stop looking at her. There was something different about the air around her. For one thing, she was talking to him. That by itself was completely different. However, there was something about her that was unfamiliar to him. It was a warmer feeling but he just couldn’t place it.

Turning his head away from her, he looked off in the distance and into the forest just past the road. He wasn’t sure about what to say after all of that. He was never good with words in the first place. The silence between them became way more apparent the moment it started up again and all Hiccup could do was twiddle his thumbs and try not to say something stupid.

It was his style to say something stupid, especially when things were quiet, awkward, and he was in over his head.

“H-hey, Astrid, I-”

“Hiccup, I’m sorry.” Astrid quickly interrupted, causing Hiccup to stare at her in surprise once again. “I’m sorry about… about what Snotlout did.”

“Snotlout?”

He hadn’t seen his cousin in a while, thank god for that. Hiccup was trying to avoid areas that the boy could have been at or frequented. What was Astrid apologizing for? And why on Snotlout’s behalf…

When his mind finally caught up with what she was implying, he felt his heart clench hard. He was now remember the day like it was yesterday. Hiccup realized it was the day he actually stopped thinking of her, his cousin, his home, any thought that could possibly hope for a future here, and let go of almost everything he cared about on Berk. His heart grew deathly cold.

“I should have stopped him. I- he said-”

“Don’t be.”

She turned her head to him and looked surprised. When she looked at him, he was still looking straight ahead with eyes that were almost void. In that moment, they seemed empty of anything she remembered of Hiccup. The dog beside him had an immense look of worry and let out several soft whines. He got to his feet.

“Because, I’m not going to accept it.” Hiccup started trotting away. Toothless was immediate to follow, not turning his attention away from his owner.

“Hiccup!”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“Hiccup, just listen-”

“I said, I don’t want to hear any-”

“I didn’t know!”

His foot stopped in its track, however he still didn’t look her way.

“I didn’t know what was in the letter.” She stood up from the bench and looked at him with remorse. “He gave me the letter and said to put it in your locker. I had no idea what was on it.”

The boy remained still, not looking her way but turning his head to the left slightly. She continued on.

“When I found out what it said…” Her eyebrows furrowed as she clenched her fists. She looked down at her feet and gritted her teeth. “I made sure to-”

“Did you ask?”

“What?” Astrid looked up immediately and replied in confusion.

“Did you ask what was in the letter?”

“N-no. Not when I-”

“Did you know about the paint or the gymnasium?”

“Well, I heard-”

“Maybe you thought it wasn’t me and some other random unlucky _loser._ ”

Her eyes were hurt by the comment. “That’s not-”

“What?!” Hiccup snapped his head to her and she backed away terrified at the outburst. Hiccup never shouted. “Not, what? Not fair?” He started stomping towards her. It had never been more apparent than at this moment that he was about an inch taller than her now.

“Hiccup…” It came out even lower than a whisper.

“You know what’s not fair? It’s not fair that I was the one always picked on.” He started huffing in front of her. Toothless started nudging at his leg and occasionally growling at the pit-bull that dared to bare its fangs at his boy. “It’s not fair that all the friends I had left or outright _abandoned me!_ ”

This effectively shut her up.

“It’s not fair that I ended up as the brunt of everyone’s jokes. Everyone’s convenient target!” His eyes were tearing up and he was having heavy, irregular breaths. The next words were broken as they came out of him, only spoken in a heavy whisper. “What’s not fair is I had to leave to feel like I could belong at all.”

Astrid looked at him in total surprise and utter guilt. She was almost breathless as he glared down at her. The weight of his gaze was unbearable. She couldn’t see the boy just a moment ago that was tackled by his dog with licks. She couldn’t hear the exasperated laughs, stuttered words, or see the look of longing. She couldn’t even see the boy that would awkwardly smile and blush nervously. Right now, she couldn’t see the Hiccup she knew.

Pursing his lips and furrowing his brows at her, his mouth was clamped shut as he breathed heavily through his nose and continued to look her in the eye. He looked down at Toothless that was now full on growling at the other dog. The two looked about ready to attack each other. Shutting his eyes and taking one last deep breath, he turned his head away and walked back onto the pavement sidewalk through the park. She didn’t call out again. If she did, he didn’t hear it because right now he was numb to the world.

By the time he got home, it was near pitch black. Hiccup must have taken a detour somewhere because he felt like he walked an extra few hours after his outburst towards Astrid. He didn’t even answer his dad’s greeting when he entered the house. He all but sprinted up the stairs, shut his door, and immediately buried his head into his pillow.

He hated remembering it. He hated thinking back to that day and remembering how his eyes puffed red as he desperately washed the paint that never came off his clothes, how he had to change the minute he got home and toss those clothes and his backpack into the neighbors trash bin. He hated remember how he sat in his room curled up, trying to avoid his dad’s worried calls and skipping the days after, not wanting to ever go back to that hell. He hated thinking about the amount of effort he had to put into telling his dad he wanted to transfer schools immediately a few days after and trying to hold back any of the emotions he’d been harboring. What he absolutely hated the most was that the only reason it happened was because he hoped for something different.

The day it happened, he hated the thought of hoping for Berk to accept him.

Curling himself up in a ball on his bed, Hiccup shut his eyes tight. He would not cry again. He would not let this consume him again. Toothless had hopped onto the bed and curled himself up next to him the moment he collapsed. The dog placed his head onto his side and whimpered softly, occasionally moving his head to lick Hiccup’s arm.

Finally feeling Toothless’ presence after so long, Hiccup turned to look at his friend that returned his gaze. He started petting the dog’s nose and it preened, scooting his head up to Hiccup’s neck and resting it firmly in place. The boy didn’t mind the fishy breath or occasional licks to the cheek. It was a nice reminder of the friend he had, all the friends he had back on Burgess and the very, very few here. It was calming and he felt relieved to have his best friend at his side.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

Looking down to his pants, he reached to the pocket pressed snuggly against his mattress and pant leg as he pulled out the phone and brought it to his face. He opened the application that he left active at all times.

_Olaf: Hey, you left in kind of a hurry so I didn’t get to say have a good night. We’ll chat tomorrow._

Hiccup looked at the message from the friend that was so close but so far away. The reminder of that day made it explicitly more apparent of how close the person on the other line was to the life he wanted to forget, to remove. Today only reminded him of why he was so afraid of hoping for anything more with this person.

He didn’t reply. He couldn’t reply. Anything he could possibly send would have felt broken and he couldn’t bring himself to type it. All he could do was pull the phone to his chest and curl further around it. Dammit all to hell, why was he so desperate to hope beyond all hope for a place here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Throughout what has been written, it's clear that Hiccup has a bit of a complex when it comes to Berk. The first chapter shows why but you never get to delve into his thoughts, just how he deals with it. This chapter is meant to give more credence to his damaged confidence. He's partly dense but there is an underlining thinking to his way of interacting. I don't intend for this to be the overarching theme but this plays a bigger role in the future. He's also not the only one feeling it.


	8. Silent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, I italicize text messages and bracket text them with symbols as seen in chapter 4 for Elsa.  
> \- Hiccup -  
> ~ Elsa ~  
> \+ Fishlegs +

_Chapter 8_

**_Silent_ **

 

“Well, Mr. Haddock. The examination is complete and I’m happy to say that Toothless is in perfect condition.”

Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief as he smiled brightly at his friend looking back at him with a wolfish grin.

Toothless was a wolf. That took him by surprise the minute he asked the veterinarian the question. Technically he was a half breed, the dog breed unknown. However, it was the only thing that could explain why Toothless was so small.

_Hah!_

Toothless was _small!_ In the six months he had the rowdy mutt, Toothless went from being just above his ankles to being just below his waist. This didn’t even include when Toothless stood on his hind legs! Hiccup was pretty sure that his wolf friend could stand taller than him at this point.

Man, he wasn’t sure how we was supposed to explain to his dad that the pet they got was actually part wolf. He was still curious as to who sent his friend. After actually looking into it, it turned out it wasn’t a relative. Apparently, his uncle was only delivering it. Toothless was actually brought in from the mainland and asked to be sent to a Haddock family member living at the address. The only reason it was assumed it was for Hiccup was because the gift was meant to be delivered on Hiccup’s birthday.

When Hiccup left the office with Toothless at his side, his friend definitely seemed put off. It was blatantly obvious that the prideful wolf did not like being touched so thoroughly. However, the pup had to put up with it if he wanted to get another set of fish. Hiccup wasn’t sure how well he would last through the summer at this rate. The stupid mammal was milking him for all he’s worth thanks to the endless amount of things he had to ask of his canine friend.

Letting out a huff, they left the veterinarian building and started walking down the sidewalk, Hiccup’s mind still preoccupied with various things.

“Hey, bud, do you know who sent you?” Hiccup asked out of sheer curiosity. Looking down to the wolf… dog… wolf dog, he only watched as Toothless whipped his head around, fluffing the hair around his head. The boy snorted. Toothless still seemed bothered about the examination and was trying to shake off any remnants of the experience.

“I’ll get you your fish so don’t you worry. You’ll get three for putting up with the whole thing.” Smiling down at his friend, the not so little pup let out another howl of content. The wolf thing explained the changed from high pitched barks to consistent howls. He wasn’t sure of how many dogs actually howled and now he knew why his did so often.

Hiccup’s eyes perked when he felt his pocket vibrate. Taking the phone out of his pants, he noticed several new messages. He must have missed some during the checkup on Toothless.

_+Hiccup! Did you see the new Destiny trailer?!!!+_

Hiccup quirked a smile. Fishlegs would be the one to get too excited to wait on telling him about video game news.

_-Yeah, I saw it. It looks good-_

_+I CANT WAIT! Diablo 3 and Destiny so soon!+_

Chuckling again at how quickly Fishlegs replied back, he shook his head. He seated himself at a bus stop, waiting for the number four.

_-Talk about it more when I’m actually home. I’ll be on in a few-_

_+SOONER PLEASE+_

_-Soon!-_

He went on to ignore the rest of Fishlegs’s text messages. He already knew what they were going to say. His humorous expression dulled when he opened up the chat application.

_Olaf: So, Toothless have any diseases?_

Hiccup chuckled and turned to look at the impatient mutt wagging his tail and wanting to continue their walk. He started petting him and immediately Toothless drooped onto his knees happily. Scratches were one of the few things that could bring the great big Toothless into a goopy puddle of lazy.

_Dragon Rider: He’s totally fine, according to the vet_

_Dragon Rider: Learned something new about him though_

_Olaf: What’s that?_

_Dragon Rider: He’s apparently part wolf_

The long pause didn’t bother Hiccup in this particular instance. He could only guess that she was trying to think of some witty reply to comment on it. What he was surprised about was when he got a phone call after almost a minute of waiting. Hiccup couldn’t bring himself to answer it, but he also didn’t want to end the ringing. He simply looked at his phone with a downcast expression.

When the ringing finally ended, he went back into the application.

_Dragon Rider: You know I can’t talk right now_

_Olaf: Aww. But, I want to hear Toothless. I wanna hear a wolf howl._

Hiccup only looked at the message, dejected. It had been a week since his crazy outburst at Astrid. The day after really set in what had actually taken place. He had screamed at Astrid Hofferson. The girl prone to fists first and questions later. One of the most beautiful and most well-known students on Berk. She was the center of attention and no one messed with her. _No one_ crossed her without knowing her limitless wrath.

And here he was sitting on the idea that he had done just that.

The reality of the situation sank in quickly. There was a very good chance that people would hear about it. Why wouldn’t they hear about it? Astrid was yelled at by someone. Not just someone, by _Hiccup!_ That made no sense! How could that possibly make sense? What in the world had brought him to do something like that? It felt so out of character for him. For him, it was so much easier to push off the anger and emotions. It was easy to tuck it away and pretend everything was fine. That’s how he lived. That’s how he survived.

Hiccup let out a huff as he looked down at the message waiting for a reply. He combed his hand into his hair and started rubbing his scalp.

Honestly, he didn’t care if people heard about it. Astrid could tell everyone and it wouldn’t make him look any worse than half naked paint boy with over a million different angles of his humiliation. It wouldn’t change the fact that he was Hiccup the Useless, a black mark in Berk’s history of strong characters. No, what he did care about was how close to the sun he got to only be burned and crashed spectacularly to the ground known as his inevitable reality.

After that day with Astrid, he stopped answering Olaf’s calls. He couldn’t bring himself to talk to her. The day after, he felt like a mess and simply couldn’t keep a clear enough voice to try and sound decent, let alone happy. The attempt would sound fake from miles.

However, when he did regain his composure, Hiccup couldn’t help but think of how dangerously close he was getting again. He was getting too close and this time he wouldn’t let himself burn.

_Dragon Rider: I can send a picture of Toothless if that will convince you he’s actually a wolf_

_Olaf: I’ll accept pictures but I still want to hear him._

_Olaf: Everyone gets sick, you know? It won’t bother me._

Sick. That was his excuse. There seemed to always be an excuse. This was his reason as to why he couldn’t answer her calls anymore. He told her that he developed a pretty bad flu thanks to his dad. It went away quickly but the sore throat and raspy voice stayed behind. He was desperate for an excuse but he wasn’t good at it. He was never good at lying. He hated that it was such a common thing when it came to her.

_Olaf: How about you just put him on speaker? That way I can talk to Toothless and you can listen to Olaf. Deal?_

Hiccup thought about the proposition. It was a fairly sound one. He wouldn’t need to speak so it wouldn’t break the farce of his lie. He also wouldn’t be putting himself in a situation where his harboring emotions might affect his voice. No one was around so there was no one to reveal who he was, and it wasn’t like Toothless was going to give it away. It seemed like a good idea.

All the reasons he was thinking were excuses trying to cover his real motive.

He wanted to hear her voice.

He didn’t reply back. Instead, he started calling her phone. The girl was quick to pick up.

“Hello?”

Silence.

“Right. Okay, uh, is Toothless there?”

More silence followed. Hiccup was too afraid to say anything. He took in a breath to try and calm himself. Pulling the phone from his ears, he turned his phone on speaker and nudged Toothless lightly. The dog let out a soft grumble.

“Hi, Toothless! I heard you’re a wolf.”

Toothless let out a low warble and a rumble.

“That didn’t sound very wolf-like. I thought you guys howled.”

Immediately, the big black wolf let out an extended howl, usually reserved for signs of dominance, i.e. _give me more fish!_

“That’s amazing! Little Olaf can only bark. Isn’t that right, Olaf?”

Hiccup could hear the little barks from the tiny Chihuahua on the other end. Immediately, Toothless sat upright, staring at the phone as if it were some sort of unknown beast. He started letting out short burst of low pitched howls into the phone. More barks followed on the other end, sounding significantly more aggressive for… you know… a tiny white Chihuahua dog talking to a huge wolf. Small wolf. Large dog but small wolf. Wolf dog…

He heard her start giggling like crazy on the other end and he felt himself smile at the sound. He hadn’t heard her laugh in a while. This dog conversation thing now seemed like a bad idea. He was starting to miss talking to her.

That was false.

He already missed talking to her.

Throughout his train of thought, the two dogs continued to communicate with each other through the phone. Toothless glared at his phone as if it weren’t meant to exist. This little foreign black block in his owners hand was barking back at him. Him! This, raw, majestic, and noble beast. How dare it! Toothless started howling more in a much louder and more dominating tone.

“I can’t believe Olaf and Toothless are actually talking to each other on the phone. This could be a world first.” The girl started giggling wildly.

Hiccup snorted at the comment, remaining silent but still smiling brightly at the thought. His furry friend finally gave up on this ignorant piece of human utility and jerked his head away defiantly, strolling to the other end of the bench and laying himself down and out of view. Hiccup only shook his head with a quiet chuckle. He could still hear the barks on the other end but the girl started cooing to the dog to settle it down.

When all audio from the phone ceased, the area fell into a heavy silence. It had become very apparent that no cars were on the road, people on the sidewalks, or birds in the sky. The call was still going but it was deafeningly quiet.

“Um…” The girl on the other end finally spoke up. “W-when you get better, definitely call me. I miss talking with you.”

Hiccup’s breath hitched as he looked at his phone in disbelief.

“Okay… bye.” She hung up, leaving him in the silence of the world once again. There wasn’t any messages that followed or notifications or calls. Hiccup sat there in silence, allowing the number four bus to drive past him as he sat quietly, phone still in hand.

He arced his head up and looked upon the clear blue sky. There were no clouds overhead and the sun was shining as brightly as ever. He let out a sigh. Why couldn’t the world be depressingly dull and dreary at this moment? Why couldn’t the skies be greyer, the clouds more prominent, the winds stronger, and the air heavier? It was as though the world itself was mocking him. Everything around him was telling him that he should be happier. The words his friend spoke just now should have made him happier. Why couldn’t he be happier?

_When you get better._

He wanted to get better.

**xXxXx**

“Now, remember. Be good in school, don’t spend too much time on those video games, and don’t eat too much junk food.” Stoick counted off these commands to his son off of his fingers. He then turned his attention to the huge ball of energy hopping on his leg, tongue drooping happily and letting out soft whines as the man started patting the dense fur. He crouched down to the wolf, and Toothless started licking his face excitedly. “Going to miss you, too. You and your boy.” Stoick looked up to his son. “My boy.”

Hiccup smiled at his dad. The summer felt like a whole new life for him. Throughout his stay on Berk, the two had spent more time together than either could remember over the past couple years. It was different. Good different. They both made a mental note to spend time together more often.

Gobber immediately walked behind Hiccup and knocked his luggage into his back, sending the boy into Stoick. His dad caught him before falling.

“Well get on with it! Ye’ know you were going t’ hug anyways. We ‘aven’t got all day.” Gobber snickered, taking Toothless’s leash and heading towards the ferry that was getting ready to sail for the mainland once again. Hiccup gave Gobber a pointed look but a thankful smile. He turned back to his dad now standing tall but not feeling as small.

“Take care of yourself, son.” He smiled affectionately at his son that was growing up. It was slow but he was getting there. Stoick could see it.

“Y-yeah.”

“And remember.” The large man pointed down at him. “The third condition. I want that invite.” His grin was wide enough to reveal his whitened teeth under the bushy beard. Hiccup nodded energetically and smiled back with an equally wide smile.

“You got it, dad.”

The man pulled Hiccup into a tight hug, one of the tightest hugs he had ever given. Hiccup made sure to try and return in kind. Picking his son up from the ground and letting out a few bellowing laughs, he placed his son firmly back onto the ground.

“I’d like a goodbye as well.” Thuggory commented jokingly, walking up to the touching moment between father and son. Hiccup laughed nervously and Stoick nodded as he backed away, giving Thuggory the floor. The boy crossed his arm and sent Hiccup a challenging smirk.

“You know, I expect The Fury out there.” The taller boy poked against Hiccup’s chest.

“Heh… Yeah. S-so you’re going to be joining the Hooligan Vikings then?” Hiccup asked, head tilted down slightly but looking up to him. His friend only chuckled.

“Of course! No way I’m gonna not keep my legs moving, even if it’s stuck on Berk for a while.” Thuggory punched Hiccup’s arm and smiled. “Those Vikings ain’t got the best track record and I’m gonna change it.” He looked Hiccup straight in the eye expectantly. “We’re gonna come at you and those Guardians with all we’ve got, and I expect you to show the same respect.”

Thuggory extended a hand to Hiccup and grinned. Looking up to him with firm resolution, Hiccup took his hand and shook it with mirth.

“It sucks that I came back and now you’re the one going away.” Thuggory frowned but was quick to perk back up. “I’ll be sure to crash at Frank’s place when I want to chat. I’ll get a phone eventually but I like to keep it simple for now.”

“Hiccup! The boat’s leavin’ in twenty! Get y’r butt on here!” Gobber shouted over the railings of the ferry. Hiccup shouted back that he’d be on soon before looking back to Thuggory and his dad.

“I’m going.” Hiccup nodded with a quirked smile on the right side. “I’ll see you guys later.”

As Hiccup walked off and onto the boat, the other two continued to wave and holler their goodbyes that didn’t cease until the boat was almost out of view. There was a warm sensation filling in his chest that Hiccup couldn’t help but smile about. The last time he set sail, he left behind angry feelings and hateful thoughts. This time around felt like he was lifted in the air with cheers and it was only two people seeing him off. It felt odd but wonderful.

“Ready to ge’ back to the dorm?” Gobber asked, looking down to Hiccup while petting Toothless beside him. They both stood at the bow of the ship, looking off in the distance for the landmass that they would be staying at for another year. Hiccup nodded.

“Can’t wait to see the guys again.”

“Bet they can’t wait to see ye’ too.” The larger man affirmed, patting Hiccup a few times on the back before turning around and heading towards the interior of the ship. Hiccup stood there with Toothless and watched as the waves passed by.

He let out a heavy breath and closed his eyes, head dropped low. Taking the phone from his pocket, he looked at the device that seemed almost dead in his hands. The trailing end of his summer, Hiccup was spending less and less time with the application, the text messages, or phone calls with her.

He was running from her.

Hiccup wasn’t quite sure exactly when he started taking longer to reply to her. It must have been sometime around early July that he started delaying his messages.

_Olaf: Just went on a jog with my sister and Marshmallow. I never noticed how long the mountain trails were._

Two days to reply.

_Olaf: Finally got that driver’s permit! Just a bit longer for the license._

Five days.

_Olaf: Fun fishing trip?_

One week.

_~Looking forward to school starting?~_

No reply.

Hiccup slouched against the rails and stared at the text message. Olaf had sent it a few days before he was going to leave, and here he was on the ship and already heading back to Burgess. He let out another sigh. He was a coward. Almost the entire summer felt like a dream but the bits of nightmares were what affected him the most.

He pulled up the number in her contacts and clicked the name. He wanted to press that call button. Answer the question and ask her the same. Forget the stupid insecurities and just tell her who he was. It would have been easy, and who knows? Maybe there could be a fourth person he could come back to on Berk. The thought of it sounded amazing. However, his arms felt heavy holding the phone just thinking about calling.

“Ye’ really gonna stay out here th’ whole trip, Hiccup?” Gobber poked around the corner and walked over to the boy. Hiccup’s knees went weak from the sudden question as they buckled underneath him. He turned to face Gobber while holding onto the railings.

“Toothless likes it out here and you know they won’t let him in if he’s not in a cage.”

Toothless growled at the metal bars and Hiccup simply gestured to the dog to prove his point. Gobber nodded knowingly.

“Alright. Well, careful no’ to drop tha’.” The man pointed at Hiccup’s phone. “Things expensive, ye’ know.”

Hiccup only chuckled as the man turned around and went back inside. He looked to where Gobber had disappeared around. His smile dropped slowly before he turned back to his phone. He didn’t realize how sweaty his palm had gotten during the interaction. Was it Gobber’s surprise appearance or was it from earlier? Either way, it didn’t matter now.

He shut his phone off and placed it back into his pocket. Letting out a sigh, he thought to himself that there would be far less chances of him dropping his phone anymore. He already had Fishlegs, Thugs, his dad and Gobber, and all his friends back at Burgess. It was more than he ever had in his life. It might be okay to let go of one single friend he didn’t even know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there was a villain in the story right now, it would be Hiccup himself. Usually internal battles never lead to anything going well, and I wanted to highlight the effects of not addressing your own insecurities. More will be touched on this but I plan to mix things up in the next chapter. Literally switching things up.


	9. Change

_Chapter 9_

**_Change_ **

 

“Elsa.”

A puff of red hair popped up from the side of the sleeping girl lying in bed. Eager eyes looked down at the older girl.

“Psst. Elsa!”

The girl began climbing onto the bed and crawling over the older girl. Feeling agitated, the blonde girl pulled her blanket higher over her body and let out an indignant grunt. The younger girl persisted.

“Wake up. Wake up. Wake up!” The red haired girl pleaded whilst shaking the shoulders of the unwilling sleeping-but-not-sleeping person that merely grumbled more at the action. It did not deter the other.

“Anna, go back to sleep. The sun isn’t even up.” Elsa bemoaned, pulling the blanket over her head and trying to remain out of sight of her sister and return to her slumber. Her sister pouted and pulled the blanket away from her head. There was much protest at the action.

“I can’t! School starts tomorrow so we have to do as much as we can today!” Anna complained as she arched her head up to the ceiling and fell onto Elsa’s sleeping figure.

Elsa let out a soft grunt when her sister landed on her. In response, she leveraged her arm under her younger sister and promptly shoved Anna off of her and subsequently off the bed. With a satisfied smirk after hearing Anna’s whine, she faked loud snores and pulled her blanket back up and over her shoulders.

“You’re lucky I had pillows down here!” Anna stood up abruptly from the carpeted floor.

“If you already knew what was going to happen, then don’t do it.” Elsa teased back, smirk still wide on her face. Anna fell onto her sister again but perpendicularly over the bed. She pouted her lips and made sure to cue audibly of her dissatisfaction.

“I did it because I wanna do stuff!” She whined again as she flailed her arms and legs. “We should go to the mall and buy school stuff or something.”

Finally accepting the fact there was almost no chance she would get to go back to sleep before the sun actually rose, Elsa let out a sigh and sat herself up from her bed. Anna perked up immensely at the sight.

“None of the stores open up until eight, and it’s…” Looking down to her alarm clock, she let out an incredibly loud groan. “Five forty-seven! Really, Anna? Couldn’t even wait until six?” She dropped her head in her hand and arched her body over her sister that proceeded to roll up the bed.

“Well, let’s go walk Marshmallow and Olaf, and then the mall!”

“Why do we even need to shop for school supplies? We have everything we need.”

“We might need something that we might not know we need until we see it and need it!” Anna chirped happily, slithering over the side of the bed and falling back onto the pillows on the floor. She stood up once again. “What happens if we need something but don’t have it because we didn’t know we needed it until we needed it?” She crossed her arms and tilted her head. “It’s always good to be prepared. Scout rules!”

Letting out a chuckle, Elsa threw her blanket off her body and moved herself to the side of the bed. She let out a soft yawn and stretched her body left and right.

“You’ve never been in the girl scouts and you know it.”

“Doesn’t change the fact it’s true.”

“Fine… We’ll go shopping. I’m sure Rapunzel wants to do something today also.” Getting up from her seat, Elsa was quickly embraced by her cheering sister.

“Yea! I’ll invite Kristoff too!”

Smiling fondly at her little sister, Elsa patted Anna’s hair and shooed her so that she could get ready. Anna promptly left the room with energetic skips and leapt around the corner. Shaking her head lightly, Elsa turned her attention to the bed stand.

He still hadn’t replied.

Frowning slightly, she picked up her phone and turned it on, hoping for a message. It was a fruitless thought. He hadn’t replied to her in almost two weeks now and she was starting to think he wouldn’t anymore.

_Was this how he felt when I was gone?_

It was an unpleasant feeling to think about. There must have been reasons. He had his reasons. Just like how she had her own.

That was also an unpleasant thing to think about.

Steeling herself from the reminder, she realized the soft nudges from the tiny dog at her feet. Elsa smiled fondly and crouched down to the little Chihuahua and picked him up in cradling arms.

“Morning, Olaf.” The little dog started licking her cheeks and she smiled. “Ready for a little walk?”

The small white dog simply looked at her with glistening eyes and an open panting jaw. Truth be told, the little dog was ready for just about anything she had for him. He was a little bundle of energy through and through.

Elsa blinked back and gave a softened smile to the bundle of joy in her arms. Maybe today she would try again. She missed hearing Toothless. She missed hearing the nerdy boy on the other line.

**xXxXx**

“Do we really have to bring them here?” The larger blonde boy asked with a frown. Anna patted him on the back lightly.

“Don’t worry, Kristoff, you’ll see Sven again. He’s only going to stay there for a little while we walk around the place.” Anna comforted as she turned her attention to the large St. Bernard at Kristoff’s side. The boy groaned again. “Besides, he’ll have Olaf and Marshmallow with him. That’s good, right?”

“Olaf treats him like a horse.” Kristoff stated unamused as he looked down at the Chihuahua actually sitting on top of the much, much larger dog. Honestly, that little white dog was either fearless or didn’t understand the concept of ‘norm’. Both of the sisters started giggling at the sight, petting both of the dogs before giving some affection to the larger white dog beside them.

“You know Sven loves it.” The girl quipped.

“Well, my problem isn’t even Olaf. It’s the fact I’m pretty sure that _place_ spoils them.” Kristoff pointed aggressively at the doggy daycare building just outside of the large shopping mall. “Seriously, Sven hasn’t eaten this many carrots until we started dropping him off there.”

Anna simply shook her head and smiled. “Kristoff, you’re the one that spoils him. I don’t think it’s the daycare.” She crouched down at the large brown dog panting happily. “Really, how can a dog like carrots anyways?”

“ _But, carrots are good for you._ ” Kristoff crouched down beside the dog and threw his voice to mimic as though Sven was speaking. The dog gestured in accordance to the makeshift voice.

Kristoff nodded lightly, agreeing. “And, they’re delicious.”

“ _That’s right. Delicious!_ ”

“But you need to stop eating so much.” Kristoff replied, staring at the dog with an even look. He didn’t sound the dog’s speech as the St. Bernard stared him in the eye with an equally peeved expression.

Anna snorted loudly before she started laughing uproariously. Elsa simply shook her head smiling and started walking into the pet center with Marshmallow following obediently at her side. Anna shifted her attention away from her goofy boyfriend and rushed behind her sister, not before picking up the tiny white dog on top of Sven.

As the group finally checked in their dogs at the front desk, they made their way into the shopping mall. Anna was quick to guide the group throughout the entirety of each area. The girl had no agenda to attend to or particular goods she was trying to procure. None of them had anything that was essential for them. It was simply an area for them to explore at their leisure. Spending time with each other and pass the time in a crowd of people. It was energizing when surrounded by the bustling of other shopping goers. If only their cousin was with them instead of having to pick up something from home out on the mainland.

It became more than apparent that Anna had little to no intention of searching for supplies of any sort like how she had baited Elsa into joining her. This was simply another shopping escapade for the perky red haired sibling to indulge in confectionary treats and visit various shopping apparel stores much to Elsa’s disdain and protest. The older sister had no issue with clothes shopping. She had issue with the never-enough budget that Anna could melt away in a heartbeat. It was up to the responsible one to take care of their expenses.

As the group was sprinting… alright, as Anna was sprinting to the next store while the other two followed, Kristoff’s phone started ringing in his pocket. As he answered it, his eyes grew wide several seconds in the conversation.

“What do you mean that… What?! Hold on, hold on. Dad’s stuck where? Al-alright, I’ll be right there… Yeah, yeah, five minutes, tops. Bye” Hanging up the phone, it was evident he was in a rush. “Hey, I’ll be right back. Mom just called and said dad’s stuck under a bridge and-”

“What?!” both sisters exclaimed in unison. Kristoff nodded his head emphatically in response.

“Yes, I’m still trying to make sense of it. I’m going over to find out how the heck it happened and get him out of it.” He glanced down at his phone quickly before putting it back in his pocket. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes. Probably an hour at most.”

“Tell your family I said hi.” Anna peeped as she skipped over to Kristoff and kissed him on the check.

“I will.” Returning the kiss, he waved to Elsa and started jogging away. He paused for a moment and turned back around. “If I don’t come back, could you take Sven with you? I’ll pick him up from your house later.”

Receiving two thumbs up from Anna and one from Elsa, Kristoff gave a curt smile and nod before picking up the pace and turning around the corner and out of their sights. Anna puffed sadly as she trudged her way to her sister’s side.

“I hope Cliff’s okay.”

“Don’t worry Anna, I’m sure he’s fine.” Elsa started petting Anna’s head as she pulled her to a seat nearby. Anna nodded lightly with pursed lips as she leaned her head on her sister’s shoulder.

“Isn’t that the arcade we went to a while back?” Anna questioned as she pointed to the entrance just in front of them. Elsa looked up and nodded. “So, did you figure out who it was you saw?”

Elsa didn’t make any immediate movements at the question.

She noticed Anna look up to her from her shoulder, releasing her from her stupor. With a small smile, she shook her head in response.

“I probably mistook the person for someone else.”

Anna pouted her lips and wrapped her arm around her sister’s tightly.

“That’s no fun.” Anna grumbled. “It’s rare to see you so avid in looking for someone. I thought you finally saw a cute guy or something.” Releasing her sister, Anna stood up with great vigor and stood resolute. She immediately turned on her heel and pointed at Elsa. “You need to find yourself a man!”

Elsa looked at her sister with wide eyes, then she rose the tips of her fingers to her mouth and started giggling. “Are we on this again?”

Pouting and stamping her feet, Anna put both hands at her sides. “I’m serious! You really should look for someone special.” Anna looked up in thought and swooned back into the vacant seat. “It’s super magical having someone to care about.”

“I care about you.” Elsa said matter-of-factly, causing Anna to pout again.

“That’s not what I mean! I mean- Ugh! Really, Elsa. It’s awesome when you have someone you can just… just… be you. You know?”

That was a feeling Elsa wished she was more familiar with.

“Anna, it’s fine. I’m content with the way things are now.” Patting her sister on the shoulder, Elsa pressed her hands on her knees and stood up, extending a hand to her sister. “Now, let’s go. We still need to find the thing we don’t know we need until we need it. Right?”

Anna huffed before grinning at her own words. Taking Elsa’s hand, she got up and wrapped her arm around her sister’s once again.

“Milkshake first!”

“Ugh. Fine.” Elsa pointed at Anna with an even look. “No more than one.”

“Okay!” Anna perked as she pulled Elsa’s arm towards the ice cream shop.

As the two quickly made their way through the mall, Elsa gave one last glance at the arcade and let out a sigh. She never told Anna the real reason why she actually went there. The truth was she was trying to find a particular dragon rider that might have been close by but never actually met.

When she was with her sister that day, after she was done with her chat on the phone, something had clicked in her head about when the boy said he was with friends. One of his friends was Gronkle. Gronkle from what she knew attended Berk High. With all the Sherlock knowledge she had, it was an easy connection to make. The next easy connection was the arcade that happened to be in the mall they were at.

She knew it was a long shot but a little part of her was hoping that maybe, just maybe, she’d get to meet her mysterious friend.

Then again… did she want to meet him?

The whole reason she started using the application was because she liked the thought of no one knowing who she was. There was a sense of freedom behind the veil of secrecy. Lord knows she could do with being less well known at Berk High with the stares and glares that she was never too fond of. She was never one for the spotlight but was somehow always in the middle of it.

No, what she wanted was a friend outside of that spotlight, outside of the life she was living. That’s why she enjoyed talking with him. No knowledge, no preconceived notion, no perception of who she actually was or the problems she dealt with. He knew nothing about her, but on the most fundamental level, all he knew was her. It was an odd sense of bliss that she was starting to miss.

Now the real question she was asking herself recently… why did she want to change it?

When Anna finally received her and her sister’s drinks, the two made their way to an empty table next to the center fountain of the mall. The two girls relaxed for a moment and enjoyed their delicious chocolate milkshakes.

As they relaxed themselves and started talking with each other, Anna immediately went into talking about the next few months. Anna always loved talking about how winter was just around the corner. She loved talking about the snow and winter and snowmen and snowball fights and sleigh rides and so on. The subject was simply a joy for her since she was little.

Elsa also shared the same sentiment and the same love for winter, however the subject had also been a reminder of memories she tried desperately not the think about. It would have been easy if not for that one particular problem that continued to remain a constant in their lives.

_Don’t think about it._

Anna noticed the sullen expression on her sister’s face. With a slight frown, she was quick to change the topic of winter to their walk earlier that morning. This lightened the mood immensely as Elsa returned a smile and contributed to the discussion, noting one particular incident where Sven dragged Kristoff into a bush because he heard some rustling. It turned out to be a rabbit but being reminded of Kristoff having numerous twigs, branches, and leaves in his hair after he tripped into said bush caused the two to laugh at the thought.

While Anna was slurping the last remnants of her cup, she noticed someone rushing towards them. The person seemed out of breath. Something interesting was about to happen.

“Hi-hey!” The boy huffed with various shopping bags under his arm. He started panting desperately as he tried to regain his breath. “Do-do you two g-go to Berk H-High?” The words came out in breaks between each breath he took.

Both Elsa and Anna looked at each other before looking back at him. “Um… yes, we do.” Elsa answered a little nervously as she looked at the odd black haired boy. He gave a wide grin, pulling the seat beside them and plopping himself onto it as his breathing began to settle.

“Thank god.” He placed a set of bags down on one side and put his hand on his chest, the smile still present. “Okay, I need some help. The school screwed me over since I was a late transfer. I just got my supplies list today.” He turned to his pocket, pulling out a multi-folded piece of paper out and unraveling it.

As the boy next to them was looking through the list with great focus, Elsa turned her attention away from him and to her sister again. She was surprise to see Anna looking right at her with one of the widest grins on her face she had rarely ever seen… _Oh no…_ She recognized the look.

Trying to avoid any further eye contact with her sister, she couldn’t help notice Anna not so subtly nudge her head in the direction of the boy next to them. This caused Elsa to let out a deep but inaudible sigh before turning her attention back to him. Thankfully, he hadn’t noticed the little exchange.

“Okay! Here it is. Right. I have about twenty minutes to get back home but I’m still missing some books.” He placed the crinkled paper on the table, turning it around to them. “I’ve already emailed the school about needing time to get the books you have to order online but I’m missing some novels and textbooks. Problem is, I have _no_ idea where the bookstore is in this place.”

“There isn’t a bookstore here.” Elsa answered. The boy’s face dropped at the response, his mouth agape. “It’s a few blocks from here.” She gave him a saddened smile and his face landed on the table with a thud. His head whipped back up as he started rubbing his now pained forehead.

“Dammit! Really?” He looked at her dejectedly. His head jerked up. “ _Whyyyyy?_ ”

“We can help!” Anna chimed happily with an enormous smile. The boy turned his attention to the red haired girl with a shocked expression that was also shared by Elsa.

“Really?” He said again with a subtle smile rising from one end. Anna looked at her sister giving her a pointed look. She turned back to the boy and nodded eagerly.

“You said you only had, what, twenty minutes?” Anna asked and he nodded. “Then it’d be faster if we helped you. Besides, you might be looking for the same things we already bought.” She shrugged. “What year are you?”

“Junior.”

“What a coincidence! My sister here is also in the same year.” Anna smirked, turning her attention back to Elsa that looked absolutely none too pleased with how this whole conversation was going or where it was heading in Anna’s head.

The black haired boy turned his head to look at Elsa. “I could really use the help.” He smiled at her pleadingly. Anna gave a less innocent smile but coupled with puppy dog eyes.

Elsa shut her eyes and took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

“Alright. I can help you.”

Both Anna and the boy perked up immensely at the response.

“Thank you so much!” His smile was so wide that it was tough for Elsa to remain too upset with her sister. He also turned and thanked Anna as well.

“No problem! We love helping people. Also, you said you were a transfer so it’s good to help other transfers out.”

“You’re also transfers?” He asked curiously. Anna nodded.

“My sister and I transferred in the middle of last year.” Elsa answered calmly.

“That’s awesome. I’m actually from Berk, but I’ve been moving from base to base with pops.” He answered, turning back to Elsa. “Just came back this summer. It’s also why I’m late to the party on… well… this.” He lifted the numerous supplies at his side. The two girls giggled.

Anna quickly got up from her seat, slurping the very last bit of her air and liquefied milkshake and let out a sound of satisfaction. “Well? Let’s get going! You don’t have a lot of time left, right?”

His eyes widened at the reminder. “Right! Right. Okay, let’s go. Again, thank you.”

“It’s not a problem.” Elsa replied as she rose from her seat, taking one last sip of her drink.

“Oh, right!” Anna rushed to Elsa’s side and hooked her arm around her sister’s. “I’m Anna. This is Elsa.”

He nodded in reply, placing one of the bags back down after he had just picked it up. He extended his hand to them.

“Nice to meet you, Anna. Elsa. The name’s Thuggory.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a nice little nod to a Modern AU Hiccstrid FanFiction


	10. Perception

_Chapter 10_

**_Perception_ **

 

The first day of school had finally arrived. As Elsa and Anna were walking into the school yard, Anna let out dejected sighs. She wasn’t too happy about their summer ending so soon, at least to her it was soon.

“Why does school have to be a thing?” Anna wobbled herself into her sister causing Elsa to grunt and stumble slightly at the sudden impact. “Why can’t we learn from the internet? I’m sure there are way smarter people on there than our teachers and I can go there whenever I want.”

Elsa chuckled as she lightly shoved her sister upright before they entered into the building. “The ‘whenever I want’ part is the problem. You’d just not learn and spend all your time goofing off.”

“But, is that so bad?” Anna gave an innocent smile that was met with an obvious look.

“For you, yes.” Elsa started patting her sister’s head as the red headed girl started pouting her lips. “Besides. It’s not so bad. It gives you something to do and enjoy the company of other people-”

“Ladies.” Someone called from the side of them. The two turned to see the beefy guy walk up to them with a smirk and a wiggling brow. The sisters’ expressions soured slightly.

“Sean.” Elsa responded in a flat tone with half lidded eyes.

“Haven’t seen you in a while. I bet you two missed these-” Sean raised one of his arms in the air and immediately flexed it, pulsing the muscle several times as he looked at it affectionately. He then turned back to the two with a half face grin as he pointed at his still raised arm. “-solid guns.”

“Uninterested.” Elsa stated coldly.

“Boyfriend.” Anna replied in a perkier tone.

“Oh, that’s right! I am boyfriend material.” Sean stated proudly as he placed both hands onto his side in a pose. He felt a hand grip at his shoulder.

“No, she actually meant me.” The taller blonde boy walked up behind him. Sean turned to see Kristoff at his flank. It was subtle but the smaller kid slightly shrunk into himself at their height difference. He was quick to remedy his insecurity and return to his smug demeanor. “Hey, Sean.”

“Kristoff.” The boy greeted, sidestepping just enough to still remain in the center of the group and of the attention but allow the other the move around him. He extended his hand to Kristoff and Kristoff shook it responsively. “I-I see you’ve gotten taller.”

“Not really.” He replied as he gestured to his feet. “Got a new pair of shoes during the summer and the soles are pretty thick.”

At the mention of the shoes, Sean’s expression perked up immensely, now smiling proudly again.

“Ah! I see. New boots, got it. Nice, man.” He knuckled Kristoff’s arm and let out a laugh before giving a salute and started making his exit. Kristoff simply chuckled and gave a small wave back before turning his attention back to the two girls.

“Hey Elsa. Hey- umph!” Anna immediately lunged into Kristoff the moment he turned to face them. She buried her face into his chest and gave a huge smile. Elsa laughed softly.

“Kristoff!”

“It’s only been a day. Oh, how’s Sven?” Kristoff looked down and asked Anna before looking up towards Elsa. “Sorry, I couldn’t pick him up from your house. I hope your dad wasn’t too mad about it.”

He felt Anna shake her head before letting go and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

“He wasn’t. Sven doesn’t really cause a mess when he’s outside so dad didn’t mind.” Anna replied happily.

“Anna was worried though. Is Cliff okay?” Elsa asked. Kristoff nodded.

“He’s fine. Fell in a pretty deep ditch while working on sight. Got a pretty bad sprain out of it but it doesn’t seem too major. Uncle took a look at it and said he’d be fine, and mom’s staying by his side until he’s okay.”

“That includes bathrooms doesn’t it…?” Anna pointed out with a slightly disgusted look. This caused him to shudder.

“Please… don’t bring that up.” The taller boy waved his hand in the air and sighed. He then looked up and gestured them to their lockers. The three promptly moved their way down the hall until they reached several lockers adjacent to one of the classrooms.

Elsa took several notes of subtle glances that were focused in her direction when they made the walk over. She felt herself clam up under the various gazes from the people around her. She was thankful for Anna’s lighthearted presence that was amplified two folds when around Kristoff. However, it didn’t change the fact she could feel the eyes on her.

Anna continued to talk with Kristoff about his family’s wellbeing for several minutes as the group deposited their things into their lockers and took out several books for their first morning classes. When the conversation turned to when Kristoff would stop by to pick up Sven, Anna was suddenly reminded of the day before.

“Oh, oh! Kristoff. I forgot to tell you. We met a new transfer student yesterday when you left.” Anna said emphatically. Elsa let out a huff in response. She was hoping this wouldn’t come up so soon.

“Really? That’s cool.”

“Yeah, yeah! He needed help finding some books and we helped him out.” Anna slithered her way next to Elsa. “ _He’s_ in the same year as Elsa.”

It took Kristoff several seconds to make the connection with what she was trying to point out to him. Really, the giveaway wasn’t Anna’s overtly obvious mannerism but Elsa’s incredibly sour expression that blankly looked ahead of herself. He let out an ‘oh’ and nodded knowingly before quirking a brow.

“Anna, you really think it’s a good idea to try and set up Elsa with anoth-”

“Shh! don’t tell her!” Anna shushed harshly and commanded in a loud whisper. Elsa simply buried her head into her hands and shrugged Anna’s arm away from her. She started walking away from the two. “Hey, wait up!”

“I’m heading to class.” Elsa replied coolly as she continued walking away. Anna was quick to trail beside her.

“Class doesn’t start for another ten minutes!” Anna huffed back as their pace sped up with Kristoff lagging slightly behind.

“It’s good to be early. Also, I’d rather not have to deal with this conversation again.” Immediately, Anna bolted in front of her and stood her ground defiantly. Elsa was taken aback by the action. “Anna-”

“Come on, he was really nice.” Anna said with a sadden tone. “He’s also new and could use some friends.”

“Anna, that’s not the point. I really don’t want to talk about this-”

“It was one bad guy, Elsa.” Anna said in a low whisper. The words caused Elsa to stiffen considerably.

“Um… Anna, I don’t think-” Kristoff was cut off when Anna waved her arm at him and moved closer to Elsa who had yet to make any movement.

“One bad experience shouldn’t immediately mean all boyfriends will be terrible.” Anna replied lightly. She lowered her gaze and smiled warmly as she looked at her sister.

Elsa simply stood their quietly. Right now, her mind was jumbled with various thoughts and each one was fueling a rising anger that she did not want to deal with. Her breaths became heavier and her eyebrows furrowed closer to the bridge of her nose. She really wanted to scream just remembering it. She continued to look at her feet in a mixture of anger and despair.

Turning her gaze up, Elsa was about ready to outburst at her sister for even bringing it up. However, the moment her eyes caught her sister’s warm smile, all of it was quick to vanish. Anna looked into her eyes with the same innocence and acceptance she had always given her. It finally dawned on her why Anna was trying to be so pushy on the subject. Anna was trying to help her do something that she was never very good at achieving.

Letting out one deep and belated breath, she straightened herself and smiled weakly on the left side of her cheeks. Anna beamed.

“Thank you Anna, but maybe we could let me take care of it instead of diving head first. Alright? We only met him yesterday.” Elsa asked kindly, not taking her eyes off of her sister. Anna pouted at the notion but nodded her head in acceptance.

“Fine… You lead. He’s your soon-to-be-boyfriend, anyways.” The red headed girl smiled mischievously and Elsa could only sigh and shake her head. “But!” Anna raised one finger in the air. “He is new and we could be his first new friends here. You can start there and I’m gonna help!”

“Mind filling me in on this?” Kristoff asked as he poked his head just above Elsa’s. “I’m a little lost in the conversation. So, who’s this new guy?”

“Right! Right, I was in the middle of telling you.” Anna lightly tapped her head before turning her full attention to Kristoff. “Yeah, we met this guy at the mall after you left and he needed some help with buying some school stuff. And, you know, the nice people that we are-” She gestured between herself and her sister. “-we helped him out.”

“Anna was trying to set me up the moment she saw him.” Elsa teased as she glared at her sister accusingly with a smirk.

“Yep! We didn’t get a lot of time to chat though. He was in a serious rush so we just helped him find his books. He was really thankful though. I think his name was… wait… I just had it. It was…”

“Thuggory!” A voice called out cheerfully in the distance. Anna clapped her hands together in satisfaction.

“That was it! His name was Thuggory. Wait…” Anna looked at her sister who also looked at her in confusion. Their attention was now turned to the huge crowd of people off in the distance.

The three saw the crowd of people hording around someone while laughing and cheering. There was so much talking going on that the group couldn’t tell who was saying what or what was being said at all. As they continued to observe, they noticed the crowd slightly split from the center and suddenly there was a guy backing out of the crowd as he laughed and continued to chat with everyone. Elsa and Anna immediately recognized him.

“I know, I know, I haven’t been back in a while and-”

“A while! You’ve been gone for, like, ever!” The boy was cut off by another person moving quickly to his flank.

“When’d you get back?” A girl appeared to his right.

“Came back a few months ago after dad retired. Now, I’m stuck on this little rock.” The black haired boy laughed heartily and everyone around him joined in with him. He started turning away from them. “Anyways, I have to talk with one of the teachers so I’ll talk with some of you guys later- Hey!” He called out happily the moment he caught eyes with the two sisters looking at him.

Suddenly, all pair of eyes were now looking at the three looking back at them. Elsa’s posture stiffened as they saw Thuggory skip his way over to them. Anna just stood there a little awed at the ‘new’ transfer student’s esteem.

Kristoff simply leaned down to Anna and whispered.

“It doesn’t seem like he needs any new friends.”

**xXxXx**

The day was definitely an eventful one to say the least. First thing that was a little jarring was the new transfer student they had helped. Apparently he was quite well known on Berk before he had left. When people were talking about him, it was as though he was on another plain of existence. That was a little odd early in the morning. As the hours passed, Elsa started learning about why he was so well known. It turned out that Thuggory was one of the star players in several athletic sports ever since he was a child. During his middle school years, Berk would always find themselves in the semifinals on his effort alone.

The second reason why he was the talk of the school was because of his frequency in all sorts of sporting events when he did leave. There were apparently numerous interviews with him during various championship matches throughout his high school terms outside of Berk. Because of how frequently he made it into the finals matches as a leading member each year on different teams, primarily basketball, he was a pseudo-celebrity outside of the little island which made him that much more well-known here.

Here was the reason why all of this was taxing on Elsa. Because of how famous he was in Berk High, it immediately became gossip about his relation with the Ice Queen. If there was one thing Elsa was well known for was that she was known for having almost little to no interaction with the opposite gender unless it was within her circle of friends or if it was required. In every other instance, her eyes were cold.

This was how she liked it. After the first several months on Berk, the numerous instant rejections were quick to spread and only the bold attempted more than once. The stupid were the persistent ones. However, there was a little backlash due to Elsa’s behavior. The nickname was an immediate stick and put her even more in the spotlight.

Elsa was suddenly no longer just smart, beautiful, and popular. She was an idol in people’s eyes, someone who they wouldn’t be able to reach but wanted so desperately to be close to. It was also not a mystery how she treated those that she was friends with. Incredibly kind and humble in every other case when it didn’t come to someone trying to hit on her. To them, she was perfection.

This is what she hated most. She never wanted the reputation of Ice Queen or to be sought after as some trophy. It also didn’t help that she was the only single one of her close friends. People treated her as too good to treat as a normal person. The other part that saddened her was that people who did try to get close to her only did so because of her status and not because of her. ‘Get the pretty girl first, bother with knowing about her later.’ It’s no wonder why she became cold to affection.

Now, here was her conundrum. The moment everyone saw how calmly he was talking with both Elsa and Anna, questions immediately started to fly throughout the building. With Thuggory returning to Berk, there was little chance he had to become so friendly with her so quickly. Elsa was notorious with the way she treated other guys. Then again, they didn’t consider that the vast majority of their interactions with her were flirtatious. Even with the very few that acknowledged this, it didn’t stave off the rumors and none dared to ask her personally.

When the final bell of the day rung, Elsa found herself exhausted from the stress of simply hearing the loud whispers circling her wherever she went. She was thankful that Anna was oblivious of the talks spiraling around. Anna was always one to confront people immediately if people started talking maliciously about her sister. Some of the rumors didn’t put Elsa in the most pleasant light.

As she made her way to her locker, Elsa was glad that Rapunzel was able to make it to the first day of school, albeit a little late for her first class. Elsa wasn’t sure how she would have fared if she had no one to talk with during her classes considering Anna was only a sophomore and Kristoff had several different classes than her. Her cousin was more than enough to keep her mind preoccupied from everyone else. It was also a bonus that Rapunzel and Flynn arrived late and missed the initial impact of Thuggory’s introduction so it was never a topic of discussion throughout the school day.

“Hey, Elsa, you wrote down the assignment for Mrs. Peep’s class, right?” Rapunzel asked as she tucked one of her textbooks into her bag. “I was still a little tired and missed it when she was telling us.”

Elsa chuckled and nodded her head. “I wrote it down. Do you want me to text you or do you want it now?”

“Later.” She slung her bag strap over her shoulder and smiled. “I just want to make sure I have it. I’ve already made a bad enough impression by being late. Wouldn’t want to look any worse by not turning my homework in on time.”

“You know she loves you, teacher’s pet.” Elsa teased as she put some notebooks in her locker and pulled out one of her novels. “I’ll send it to you when I get home.”

“Hey! Do you have any plans for Friday? Eugene wanted to watch Guardians before it was out of theaters.” Rapunzel asked as she closed her locker and turned her full attention to Elsa.

“Didn’t that just release this month?” Elsa cocked an eyebrow when she turned to face her cousin. “It’s a really popular movie so I’m sure it’ll be around for a while.”

Rapunzel simply shrugged her shoulders. Elsa chuckled lightly as she shut her locker.

“I’ll check with my parents. I’m sure I’ll be free for it.”

“Free for what?” Anna peeped as she smiled at her sister and waved happily to Rapunzel who returned the gesture.

“Hi, Anna. I was just telling Elsa that Eugene and I were going to watch Guardians of the Galaxy this Friday and was wondering if she’d come.”

“Where’s my invite?” Anna pouted with mock offense.

“You’re an obvious yes.” The long, blonde hair girl tilted her head with an obvious smile. “Unless your dad _really_ had something important for you, you’d probably hop out the window then call Kristoff to pick you up.”

“I’m not that bad!” Both Elsa and Rapunzel gave her accusing looks and Anna’s shoulders sagged. “Well… not that bad at least. I’d sneak out the back door…”

“Well, if Elsa comes, then it’s a hundred percent you’ll come with her anyways.” Rapunzel placed a comforting hand on Anna’s shoulder. When she noticed Anna’s still pouty expression, she gave a defeated smile. “Would you like to watch Guardians of the Galaxy with me and Eugene?”

Anna perked immediately as she stood at attention with a huge grin. “Yes! I would love to come. Oh! Actually-” She turned her attention back to Elsa. “We should also invite Thuggory!”

“Anna…”

“Thuggory?” Rapunzel asked a little confused. Elsa merely huffed.

“He’s the new student. You missed his introduction during homeroom because you came in a little late.” Elsa answered evenly as she tried to pay her sister no mind.

Rapunzel looked at her understandingly and turned to face Anna. “Is he that black haired guy people were crowding around?”

“Yep!” Anna nodded excitedly. “We met him Sunday when you weren’t here. He seemed really nice.”

Immediately, Rapunzel recognized Anna’s true intentions behind it. She narrowed her eyes at Anna before turning her attention to Elsa who seemed at least slightly peeved.

“Well…” Rapunzel looked up in thought as she placed a hand on her chin contemplatively. She glanced down momentarily to Anna’s glistening expression and a coy smile appeared on her face. She shrugged casually. “Sure, why not.”

Anna squealed immediately as she shook her hands just under her chin in satisfaction. Elsa groaned as she closed her locker and pressed her head firmly against it. Now she had two people against her. Fighting this just got a whole lot harder.

“Alright. I’ll ask Thuggory when I see him.”

“Ask me what?” The boy in question appeared just next to the group. They were all taken by surprise when they saw him. He looked at them confusingly. “What?”

Anna immediately shook her head and the smile returned to her face. “We were thinking of watching a movie this Friday and _we-_ ” Anna wrapped her arm around Elsa and gestured between herself and her sister. “-were wondering if you wanted to join us.”

He looked at Anna curiously before he turned his attention back to Elsa. Elsa tried her very best to not look annoyed by her sister’s words. Honestly, she wouldn’t mind if someone joined them. What she was just bothered by was Anna’s ulterior motive. The boy simply looked between the three of them in question. He then gave a smile and nodded.

“Sure, a movie sounds fun. I’m assuming it’s not going to be just you three, right?”

“Nope. Rapunzel’s boyfriend is coming with us along with mine. You met him earlier. Kristoff.” Anna replied cheerfully. Elsa desperately try to hold back her groan. Anna had to point out that they were the only single people going to the theater.

“Alright, cool. I’ve got no plans Friday. Thanks for the invite.” He said kindly. Someone called his name in the distance and he turned his head to see who it was. He waved the group goodbye before he left their side. Elsa couldn’t help notice the various looks people were giving them the moment he was gone.

Anna fist pumped the air in victory. “See, Elsa, that wasn’t so bad.”

“You couldn’t have been more obvious even if you had a billboard. You didn’t even tell him the movie…” Elsa let out a sigh. “Come on, let’s head home. I’m sure mom and dad are looking forward to hearing about our first day back.”

Anna nodded before a sudden thought popped in her head. “Where’s Kristoff?”

“Eugene said there was a meeting with one of their teams after school. I’m guessing Kristoff is there as well.” Rapunzel answered.

“Really? He didn’t tell me.”

“Did you check your phone?” Elsa looked down to Anna’s purse. Her little sister looked down and took her phone out. Anna’s cheeks flushed immediately.

“Well… he didn’t tell me in person.” The other two girls started laughing. Rapunzel patted her back understandingly.

As the girls made their way through the hall and out of the school, Elsa felt a vibration in her pocket. She reached for her phone and had an utter look of shock when she saw who it was.

_-Hey, how was day one back at Berk?-_

She was incredibly grateful that Rapunzel and Anna were talking to each other about what they had been doing during the weekend. Neither of them noticed the wide smile on her face that refused to go away.


	11. Meeting

_Chapter 11_

**_Meetings_ **

 

It has been some time since Elsa first met the new student at Berk High and she had to admit that she was pleasantly surprised by how differently he treated her compared to her past experiences with guys here. Honestly, she had to acknowledge just how different he was in general versus the usual Berkian persona.

She had talked to him on and off during the first week of school starting but her biggest impression came the night her friends were going to watch Guardians of the Galaxy. Apparently there was a slight change to the participants that were attending the theater with them that day.

“Hey! Sorry we’re late. It’s been a while since I’ve been to the movies here so I may have gotten a little lost.” Thuggory laughed heartily as he arched his back slightly.

“I-it’s less b-being lost and m-m-more of being a really r-reckless driver.” Another boy beside him answered in a very shaky and distraught tone. Elsa, Anna, and Rapunzel looked at the new person standing beside Thuggory but turned their attention back to the black haired boy when he started cackling harder. He went to wipe a tear out of his eye.

“I’m sorry, Frank, but I couldn’t resist. Berk has super wide roads and almost empty streets. Of course I’m gonna try and drift a few turns.” He started patting his friend’s back and lowered the volume of his chuckles. The rounder blonde boy simply looked flustered just trying to recall their endeavors, almost as if he had seen a ghost. He was almost as pale as a ghost.

“S-safe driving i-isn’t a laughing matter, Thuggory.”

“Okay, in all honesty, I just wanted to scare you a little.” With an enormously wide and mischievous grin, Thuggory preened. Anna coughed and immediately he turned his head to the group he had seemingly forgot about for a moment in his banter. “Oh, right. Yeah, I thought it would be okay to bring a friend along since, you know, I felt a little alone in the mix.”

Moving slightly away from the other boy, Thuggory gestured to him and smiled.

“This is Frank. He’s a good friend of mine.” He smiled.

The boy turned his attention to the group and suddenly grew beet red, trickles of sweat starting to form. “H-h-hi… I-I’m Frank.” Frank shakily raised his hands and waved at them cautiously. It was immediately clear that he was a shy kid. Elsa actually recognized him. He was one of the few students to rank higher than her in academics. She had seen him in a lot of afterschool lessons and several AP classes. One thing she remembered about him was that he was incredibly soft spoken. It seemed to hold true outside of school as well.

“It’s no problem. More people, the better.” Rapunzel smiled and nodded to Thuggory.

“Yeah. It’s always good to bring more friends.” Anna replied immediately after, though she did have a sad glint in her eye as she gave a quick glance to her sister beside her. It was quick to fade as she walked up to the boy. “It’s nice to meet you, Frank.” She smiled and extended her hand to him.

His face somehow reached a level of red thought humanly impossible at the gesture. It almost looked like steam was fuming from the top of his head as his eyes grew wide looking at the slender fingers in front of him.

“N-n-n-nice t-t-to me-meet you.” He slowly and shakily reached her hand and grasped it as though it was the most fragile thing in the universe. His hand rose up and down once before he pulled away immediately, looking down to his feet and nodding again.

Anna giggled, not minding the shy demeanor. Thuggory did his best to hold in his laughter. The rest of them introduced themselves to him, Rapunzel bringing up the few classes the two shared and how she recognized him. She also acknowledged his intelligence and it was the first the group had seen him smile under an even redder face.

The eldest of the group, Eugene, announced to them that the movie was going to start soon so they should get to their seats before there were none left. Immediate to the reminder, Anna gripped Kristoff’s hand and pulled him away and straight towards the theater room. Rapunzel invited Frank to buy his ticket and talk a little more about some of the subjects he was an expert in while Eugene joined them. This left Elsa with Thuggory to order popcorn from the concession stand.

“Thought it would be a little less awkward with three single people instead of two.” The boy commented randomly as they stood in line. Elsa’s eyes widened as she looked up at him. Her features relaxed and she turned back to the front.

“So my little sister’s ploy was as obvious as I thought.” She answered a little awkwardly, raising her hand and rubbing her other arm while looking sheepish after being discovered.

“Usually, I don’t bother thinking about it but you seemed really uncomfortable with the whole thing.” Thuggory smiled at her. She looked up to the side and smiled back.

“It’s not that I mind her inviting you. It’s more of my sister trying to force things along.”

He started chuckling and scratching his scalp. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’d like to start as friends first. That’s usually how I go about things?”

“Is girlfriend the end result?” She asked warily with a raised brow, the smile distant. He shook his head lightly.

“Nah. I like to really get to know someone before considering it. I assume you’re the same.” He smiled and Elsa gave a genuine smile back. He was definitely different from a lot of people she had dealt with before. She nodded in agreement.

That was her first time really hanging out with him, and it put him in a significantly better light than any other person she met that was from Berk. It was the first time she felt comfortable around someone else other than her tightly knitted group of friends.

As time passed, their relationship with each other started to grow. Thuggory was now a regular member of their circle, albeit less frequent than the others. He still had people he was close to as well. However, it was nice that she had another person she could interact with, both him and Frank.

After Thuggory invited Frank, she started taking with the shy boy a lot more during school. He would still be flustered and stutter constantly around them but it was significantly better than their first meeting. He was smiling more, making jokes and quips, and the occasional sarcastic comments. Slowly, the boy was getting out of his comfort zone with them. Either that or they were becoming a part of it. Thinking back to what Anna said before, it seemed like it was her that needed more new friends than Thuggory.

“Hey!” Thuggory called out to Elsa while she was taking some books out of the locker. She turned and waved at him. “What’s going on, Elsa.”

“Getting ready for the next class before the bell rings.” She smiled at him before looking to his face with a raised brow. “Is there something you need?” The question was less curious and more knowing. He started chuckling.

“Can’t get anything past you, can I?”

“I’m perceptive.” Elsa smiled coyly, shutting her locker. One downside to her perceptive nature was that she always noticed the leering eyes around her, generally from other female students. She knew the reason and he was in front of her.

“I wanted to ask if you could come down to the gymnasium to watch our practice.” He gestured in the direction of the building. She momentarily gazed in the direction and the picture of the building lit her thoughts. Elsa turned back to him and raised a brow.

“Why do you need me to come?”

“Well, I’m also asking Frank to come as well. I want some people to oversee our team and give us an outside perspective on how we’re doing.” He answered coolly as he let out a breath.

“I’m not that knowledgeable about basketball, Thuggory.” She reminded him, looking at him quizzically. He shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m sure you know a lot since you’re around when the guys and I talk about it. You’ve also gone to the games with Anna and Rapunzel. The real reason though is I want you there as morale support for Frank. He’s really smart and we could use his head to help us. Problem is that he’s scared like crazy when it comes to most of the team and it’d be impossible for him to tell us where to improve when he’s too busy freaking out about telling someone their faults.”

Elsa pulled her lip back thoughtfully as she asked herself if she should go. A friend needed help and she had nothing to do but homework. She let out a sigh.

“Sure, I’ll come by. Anna’s probably going to come with me since I’m her ride.”

“Perfect! The more, the better. Our first game’s coming up soon so I’m trying to get our team ready and show what Berk can really do.” Thuggory said proudly as he beat his chest with his fist. She chuckled at the display. “I’ll see you then.”

He waved his hand to her and started trotting off. She waved back and said her goodbye before turning around to head for her next class. Now that Thuggory was gone, she felt herself shrinking under the subtle eyes still on her, those people now in a whisper.  She tried to block it out and ignore what their topic of discussion might be.

Her eyes caught a glimpse that stood out from the scrutinous eyes. Elsa noticed Astrid walking slightly in front of her with a familiar down casted expression and an uncomfortable presence looming over her. This was actually a frequent sight she had noticed around the blonde girl.

Elsa’s first experience with Astrid was the sight of strong eyes looking upon her, never hiding and always observing. There was no malice, hate, disgust, or ill intent. When she first saw the girl, she felt like Astrid was looking at her as though she were a challenger in an arena. She was Elsa’s first experience with someone that legitimately felt like a Viking, strong in stature and a little frightening.

The strong presence to the girl was amplified ten folds the moment she learned of Astrid’s fairly violent tendencies. Elsa was one to coldly look at a person that tried to make a move on her and reject them in a heartbeat outright with no means of discussion or alternative. Astrid on the other hand took it a step further. If someone got a little too friendly with her, they would find their arms contorted, feet swept from under them, body slammed to the ground, or excruciating pain exploding from the center of their body. On rare occasions, it was all of the above. Elsa’s method was effective but her method was condemning.

That was the girl Elsa was familiar with during her first year she transferred here. However, now that girl seemed far more distant in her returning year. The violence had nearly reached to a halt with no known intervention she could think of. Very rarely did someone get put to the ground, those very rare instances easily more painful than anything during the previous year. Generally, people avoided approaching her for this as well as the looming aura around her. The girl had a saddened look in her eye a lot of the time.

In the moment, the peering eyes all around Elsa became nonexistent in her mind. She was now wondering what could have possibly brought down the strong Viking.

**xXxXx**

“Alright, guys, listen up. We’ve got special guests overseeing our game.” Thuggory gestured his thumb over his shoulder towards Frank at the stands.

“Really? You asked Poindexter to watch our game. Is he gonna math to us?” One of the team members called out.

“Yeah, seriously, Thugs. Why bring Fishlegs here. It’s not like he’d be useful in anything but telling us the equation to not getting a- Ow!” Sean grimaced the moment Thuggory smacked him upside the head. “What the heck, man!”

“Get your head out of your ass for a moment, Sean.”

“Hey! I’m the team captain. I lead the-”

“Beat me in a one on one and then you get to act like my superior. Either that or kick me off the team.” Thuggory eyed him down with a stare. The boy immediately shut himself up. Sean crossed his arms and grumbled.

“One day…”

Letting out a sigh and coughing into his hands. “Contrary to popular belief, he knows more than a thing or two about basketball and he sure as hell knows about strategy. There someone I want to meet at the Winter League and I’ll be damned if we don’t see him there.” Thuggory backed away from him and turned around to look around Frank. “There should be others coming by-”

“Hi, Thuggory!” A girl chirped from the entrance. He turned his head to the new occupants of the gymnasium.

“Anna! Elsa! Thanks for making it.”

“Anna?” Kristoff looked at the two sisters quizzically. “You’re gonna be watching us play? I thought you said you were going to the park afterschool.”

“Yeah, that was a lie. I wanted to surprise you!” She waved energetically to Kristoff, Eugene, then the rest of the team. The other guys looked at the excited redhead, some looking at Elsa. Everyone stiffened except for those familiar with them.

Thuggory chuckled at his teammates expressions and turned to Elsa. “Sorry to call you out here. Frank’s over there if you want to take a seat.”

Elsa smiled back and nodded. “It’s no big deal. Morale support, right?”

“Just make sure Anna doesn’t distract Frank too much. Remember, I need his head in the game.” He laughed, and Elsa smiled and nodded.

“No promises. Come on, Anna. Let’s go sit.” She called her sister. The two girls made their way up the stands. Thuggory turned his attention back to the team. Almost everyone was frozen in place as they looked at the two beauties walk away from them.

“Again, we got special guests watching our practice today.” The group of boys visibly shuddered. “Try not to look like shit while playing in front of them.”

The entire team turned to face him with wide eyes. They all looked back at the girls, Anna waving to the team again, and the group turned to Thuggory and nodded emphatically. Thuggory started laughing heartily before he began running the drills. He called Sean to take command next to him.

The girls took their seat beside Frank, Elsa sitting beside him and Anna sitting beside her. Anna leaned over and looked in the boy’s direction.

“Hey, Frank. It’s good to see you.” Anna smiled happily.

“Hi, Anna. I-it’s good to see you too.” He only stuttered once but Anna pouted her lips with a displeased look.

“You don’t need to be so skittish. We’re friends!” Anna smiled as she moved from her seat and sat right beside him. His cheeks flared when she sat so close that her leg was touching his. “Be more confident!”

Immediately, Elsa stood up and walked over her sister, pulling her collar and picking her up from her seated position.

“Now, now, Anna. No picking on Frank. Everyone moves at their own pace. No need to make him uncomfortable.” She started dragging her protesting sister away and back to her previous seat. Elsa returned herself between Anna and Frank once again.

The redheaded girl gave an extremely peeved expression and crossed her arm with a protruding lower lip in displeasure. She grumbled audibly, not acknowledging her sister. Elsa chuckled quietly at the sight. She turned to Frank who smiled sheepishly and mouthed a thank you to her.

Nodding lightly, Elsa turned her attention back to her annoyed sister. “Come on, Anna, don’t be mad. Kristoff’s out there trying to look cool for you. Go cheer him on.”

With a wide grin now plastered on Anna’s face, she shot up happily and started cheering the team on to do their best. Immediately, the ball carrier tripped over their feet. Anna and Elsa let out a gasp as their hands rose to their mouth. They heard Thuggory snort loudly while Kristoff helped the person back on their feet.

Sitting back down, Anna looked to Elsa a little embarrassed, and Elsa simply giggled, turning her attention back to watching everyone practice.

As time went by, the basketball team went from running drills, practicing shots, and coordinating plans and patterns before they split into two teams and were about to start up a mock game. Thuggory made sure to point out that they had an audience watching. Elsa giggled at the thought of Thuggory’s secondary method for her company to motivate the team, make them not embarrass themselves.

Anna would periodically cheer them on and acknowledge any impressive shots someone made. Frank had finally gotten away from his sheepish mannerism and switched into observation mode as he leaned forward and made sure to calculate ever move and detail during the plays.

Halfway into the game, Elsa heard her phone vibrate in her bag behind her. Reaching for it, she turned on the screen and her eyes widened.

_-Evening, milady-_

The moment she read the text, Elsa excused herself, saying she needed to check with one of the teachers about an assignment. Anna looked up to her and nodded. Frank was too focused to even realize Elsa was leaving momentarily. She didn’t mind though. She already knew about his tendency to be totally lost in something once his mind was set on it. Elsa made her way off the stands and out of the gymnasium and continued until she found an empty bench several yards away and near the field.

_~The elusive Dragon Rider returns.~_

_-Yeah, it’s been sort of nerve-wracking recently with practice starting again and classes dishing out assignments like they’re hotcakes-_

Elsa let out a slightly defeated sigh. It seemed that the final nail in the coffin was hit in this text message. The mysterious Dragon Rider didn’t attend Berk High considering how much he brought up basketball and her seeing the entire team working themselves to death in the gymnasium at this very moment. Well, she hoped there would be more clues as to where he was from in the future. For now, she enjoyed the small chit chats they were having.

Their conversation went as per usual. They would talk about what happed since the last time they talked with each other as well as the antics of their pets back home. That particular topic was a common one among the two. Dogs are awesome to chat about, especially how Toothless loved tormenting him. Elsa was telling him about the practice she was attending with her sister at the moment, and he went into the discussion of how the basketball season starting has swept him up entirely.

_~Hopefully it settles down. You don’t message as often anymore~_

_-Oh, you know, I’m easily distracted. Sorry about that-_

_~It just sucks not talking with you anymore.~_

_-Yeah. It might be like that for a while-_

_~That’s disappointing.~_

_-Well, you can always count on me to disappoint-_

Reading the message tugged at her heart. She knew he was a really joking and sarcastic person and would usually keep most conversations as lighthearted as possible. It was possible he was simply being silly with the comment. However, for some reason she didn’t get that feeling from this particular text.

_~Don’t be like that. I really like talking with you.~_

There was a really long pause after she hit send. Elsa wasn’t sure what to make of it. Was she a little too forward or suggesting in that message? It seemed like an alright thing to say. They were friends so it couldn’t have possibly been that odd of a concept. Could it? Either way, she didn’t like sitting idly and waiting for a reply that wouldn’t come around. It had happened a few times before and it was never a fun thing to dwell on.

After several minutes, she let out a sad breath as she put her phone back in her pocket and got up from the bench. She was halfway to the gym entrance when she got another message. Stopping dead in her tracks, she quickly took out her phone and looked at it. Her heart skipped a beat at the message.

_-How about I make it up to you and call you now?-_

Elsa looked at the message and read it twice. Okay, three times. She bit at her lip and tried desperately to hold down the smile. She really, really wanted him to call her right now. However, she was already halfway past the field and she did say she would be there to help Thuggory. If he were to call now, there was no way it would be a short talk. She grimaced and sent a reply.

_~I’m not home right now. How about later tonight?~_

She was hoping for a positive reply but she still felt herself clam up just waiting.

_-Sounds good! Make sure to remind me of how awesome I am in that pretty voice.-_

Her eyes widened considerably before letting out a quiet snort. She really wasn’t sure how to reply to that. Playful was one thing but this text seemed like Dragon Rider’s head was in the cloud. She smiled without realizing it. He thought her voice was pretty.

Elsa held onto her phone, fingers on the dials, ready to type. The words to send were escaping her. The excitement didn’t falter. Taking a deep breath and calming herself, her thumbs finally started moving.

_~Tonight.~_

Turning off her screen and putting the phone back in her pocket. That was the only thing she could type. Nothing more needed to be said. Walking towards the gymnasium, she could only smile to herself. Elsa would save the words for later.

When she finally returned to her seat in the stands, Anna looked at her with sheer curiosity. Her sister started asking her where she went for so long. Elsa merely shook her head and brushed it off as a small meeting with one of the teachers about an assignment she turned in. However, her sister knew better. Hell, anyone would have known better. Simply looking at Elsa, you could see the positive glow emanating from her.

Elsa didn’t bother with answering any further questions from her sister. She continued to observe the game in front of them as it was reaching its conclusion. She watched as Eugene made a layup shot that ended the match, and Thuggory announced the victors. He went to call over Elsa, Frank, and Anna to give a quick rundown of the match and where they could improve.

Anna simply praised the group for awesome basket shots she noticed, and to Thuggory’s pleasure, Frank actually went into a full detail rundown of point by point moments of key plays during the game where a change of strategy for a specific person or several members could have broken through defenses or guarded better.

Elsa remained silent, only nodding and agreeing with the larger boy as he went on about what he observed. Her mind was far from the game they were playing. She was busy thinking about finally talking with what felt like a long lost friend.


	12. Push

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to quickly note that the beginning of the chapter starts three months earlier than the previous chapter. However, throughout the part, time does progress until it reaches the same point as chapter 11 (Flashback is italicized).
> 
> Another thing I want to quickly note is that I wanted to post this chapter after I finished my revisions of all the chapters. However, I got impatient because I'm my own reader and wanted to read it on my tablet... Sooooo... Enjoy!

_Chapter 12_

**_Push_ **

_~Three Months Earlier~_

_Jack was in his dorm room and lying lazily on the beanbag chair that had been available for some time now. It was nice to have his cushion back again considering how often Hiccup used it. He was never sure why the guy loved the thing so much. Beanbag chairs were nice but they weren’t the best thing in the world. That’s sure as hell how Hiccup treated it when he sat on it at least._

_He thought this but here he was lying on it with content as though he hadn’t used it in decades. Well, Jack could at least understand that it was comfy. However, the less wonderful thought of the hour was that he was stupendously bored, which was why he found himself lying on the chair in his dorm room in the middle of the day with absolutely nothing to do._

_Being the first one to come back to the dorm was less enticing than Jack had initially anticipated. He came back only a few days ago but immediately realized the lack of anyone to hang out with. He had been spending a lot of time with his friend Tatiana and Andy when they were free but most of his teammates hadn’t come back yet. No basketball games, no burger joints, no cruising through Walmart to look for hilarious shopping goers. Nothing…_

_Almost on cue, he heard the clicking of his doorknob. Jack’s eyes darted to the door that was opening and saw a large, black, and furry figure dash inside. A wide grin plastered his face immediately the moment he recognized the familiar canine that was charging at him. The dog lunged at him with great force, pushing him off of the chair and pinning him onto the ground. Jack proceeded to pet the black dog affectionately as he laughed heartily at the barrage of licks._

_“Hey, Toothless! Glad to have the Night Fury back!” Jack sat upright and started rubbing Toothless’s belly even more, causing the dog to collapse on his back as he flailed happily. “Man, you’ve gotten even bigger since the last time I saw you.”_

_“Yeah, he just keeps growing.”_

_Jack looked up to see his brown haired roommate look at his bed and drag in his luggage and a new, larger cage into the room._

_“It’s good to be back i’n’t, Hiccup? Good t’ see you again, Jack.” He heard Gobber call out from outside the room and wave his non-prosthetic hand to him. “Wasn’t causin’ too much trouble, boy?”_

_“Hah. If only. I just got back not too long ago. Got no one to cause trouble for. That’s changed, though.” Jack smiled mischievously as he stared back at Gobber. The larger man waved his hand nonchalantly._

_“Eh, ye’ got no steam jus’ yet. I’ll be safe for a while. I’m headin’ up. Gonna rest me good leg now tha’ I’m back.” Gobber chuckled as he said goodbye to the two and disappeared down the hallway. The other boy only laughed softly as he started unpacking his things._

_“Welcome back to the cave.” Jack said cheerfully._

_“Good to be back. How was your summer?” Hiccup asked as he took out his new console from his large suitcase. “Scooch over a little. I need to set this up.” He moved past Jack who promptly got to his feet and took the black dog to the side._

_“Please tell me you didn’t spend the entire summer playing games- is that a PS4?” Jack asked as his eyes glittered slightly at the new entertainment system. Hiccup nodded. “Nice! What are you gonna do with the old one?”_

_“Not sure yet. Sell it, maybe? There are a few games coming out that I want to get.”_

_“Nice! So, how was Berk?” Jack asked as he seated himself on his bedside, knowing the beanbag chair would no longer be an option for a long, long time._

_It was only for a brief moment but there was a looming feeling around Hiccup when he frowned at the question. Hiccup was quick to recover as his expression brightened considerably the moment he spoke._

_“Not really very exciting stuff. I spent a lot of time with Fishlegs and my dad. That was a lot of fun.”_

_Jack nodded understandingly but was still thinking about that split second he couldn’t help take notice of._

_“Oh, a really good friend of mine moved back there. Between him and Toothless, I barely had any time with this.” Hiccup chuckled as he started plugging in all the wires of the console after removing his old one. “Summer was a lot more fun than I expected.”_

_Smiling at the good news, Jack nodded. “That’s good to hear. I had a blast at my family’s cabin. Tubing is insanely awesome!” He let out a few chuckles while petting the black dog. “So, what’s the guy’s name?”_

_“Thuggory.” Hiccup answered. “He moved away way back and just recently came back during the summer. He’s gonna be staying there now so I’m probably gonna hear from him when he visits Fishlegs.”_

_“Fishlegs? Why Fishlegs? He doesn’t have a phone?” Jack tilted his head. Hiccup shook his head in response. “Man, gotta get with the times. It’s the 21 st century. Everything’s mobile now.”_

_Laughing at the comment, his roommate agreed with a nod. “He’s a bit old school but it just means he’s not glued to technology like we are.”_

_“Fair point. Speaking of glued to technology, did you get a chance to meet your mystery girl?” Jack smiled coyly, hoping for some juicy news. His expression dropped almost immediately the moment he saw Hiccup’s shoulders sag and his eyes drop to the floor. The familiar gloom surrounding him had returned in full force._

_That’s why he was in such a slump. Trying to divert the conversation back to a lighter topic, Jack started going on about what he had been up to during his vacation. It was enough to bring up the guy’s spirit but throughout the day when they went out to get reacquainted with Burgess, the sullen expression seemed to stick with Hiccup through much of it. It was merely masked by a mock smile. Jack never brought up the subject again but whatever had happened back on Berk seriously took a toll on his friend._

_As the weeks rolled by, Jack made sure to keep a keen eye on Hiccup. It always bothered him when his friends were down in the dumps and right now this was definitely up there in one of the worst cases he had seen. During the first few days of school, the boy was without a doubt significantly more distant with interacting with people than before, and that was saying something. Curt smiles, light nods, polite comments, and the sorts that everyone would do for others. That was the thing. It was something everyone would do._

_For whatever reason, Hiccup was trying to reduce his presence around people, blend in, and remain unnoticed wherever he could. This was something Jack was perfectly familiar with because it was something he had done in the past. Hiccup was trying to be invisible. This was the farthest thing from Hiccup’s personality. He was someone that strived to do his best and help someone in any way he could. That drive seemed to vanish._

_“Hey, Jack, come here for a second.” Jamie called the white haired boy during one of their basketball practices. Wiping the sweat off of his forehead, Jack started jogging his way over._

_“What’s up?”_

_“Did something happen with Hiccup?” The boy asked as he turned his attention back to the team running practice shots. “He seems a bit out of it.”_

_So other people noticed as well._

_“Not really sure. Hiccup doesn’t really say much when something’s bothering him.” Jack noted as he looked over at Hiccup running layups under the net. Jamie observed the shots being made and turned back to Jack._

_“Hopefully he starts feeling better, whatever it is. Knowing you, you’re already planning out a way to help.” Jamie chuckled as he knuckled Jack in the arm._

_“What makes you say that?”_

_“I’ve known you for a long time, man. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that Guardian defines you more than any of us here.” Letting out an unreserved laugh, Jamie patted Jack on the back and the two started making their way back onto the court._

_Jamie was right. Jack was definitely working on a plan. He had his suspicions on what was causing Hiccup grief and it had something to do with the recent lack of data usage. The day school started, he caught a momentary glimpse of it. They had just gotten out of classes and Jack plopped himself onto his bed, tuckered out by the first day of school finally being over._

_From the corner of his eye, for the first time that month, he saw Hiccup with his phone. Okay, it wasn’t the first time. The guy obviously used it to make calls or send messages. However, this was different because he was smiling. It was subtle but it was definitely the happiest he looked in a while. Jack could only guess who he was messaging. The dopey grin was recognizable from a mile. God, why didn’t he just ask the girl out?_

_The text conversation was brief but it was definitely a sight for sore eyes to Jack, then he noticed it. The down casted expression again coupled with the blank stare. This was the source of Hiccup’s troubles. If it wasn’t then it was definitely close to it. He recognized the look on Hiccup because it was something he noticed early on when he met him._

_As the month rolled by, the conversations Hiccup had with the girl on the other end had definitely become a less frequent thing, the smiles more distant. The more obvious thing was the phone calls with her had completely ceased._

_It felt like that one week Hiccup was depressed during the previous school year had reared its ugly head all over again but returned much worse than before. However, now, he had a plan. It was the only one he could think of but it was the only way to confirm his suspicion and try and get the guy out of his slump. However, he needed an ally._

_“Psst. Toothless.” Jack called to the black wolf. Heh… Toothless was a wolf. That was some revelation when Hiccup told Jack about that. That beside the point, Hiccup’s best friend would be playing the biggest role in all this._

_The moment Toothless heard Jack call him, a single ear perked up and he looked at the boy. He eyed him for a moment curiously before walking casually to him. It was clear to him that Jack wanted something._

_“Hey, Toothless, I’ve got a plan and I need your help with it.”_

_The dog stared at him blankly with half lidded eyes. He proceeded to sit on his hind legs and offered to listen._

_“Okay, you know how Hiccup’s been recently, right?”_

_Toothless’s ears immediately shot up and his eyes opened wide. His body jumped for a moment and he was now giving Jack his full attention. Jack smiled at the reaction._

_“I think I have an idea on how to get Hiccup to at least address the problem but I’m gonna need you to pin him down when I give the signal. I’m not sure when and I’m not sure how, but I know you can do it.” Jack looked at the wolf dog confidently. Toothless focused his gaze on him a little longer. Letting out a snort and shaking his head slightly, he nodded and lolled his tongue._

_Jack’s plan was simple. All he had to do was get Hiccup to address the issue. Hiccup was good at running away so all he had to do was put Hiccup in a position where he couldn’t run. He would make him face the problem head on._

_All he had to do was wait for when the time was right._

**xXxXx**

“Jack! What the hell!” Hiccup cursed loudly the moment Jack tossed his phone back to him. “You didn’t just-” He looked down at his phone and read the two messages that were sent. His eyes widened considerably and he let out harsh gasps. “What the hell!”

“You’re welcome.” Jack replied casually with a thumbs up.

“This-this isn’t a ‘thank you’ situation! This is very much _not_ a ‘thank you’ situation. Why’d you do that?!” Hiccup yelled angrily as he glared at the boy and back at his phone. “Also, ‘remind me of how awesome I am in that pretty voice’? What? Who-who even says that? Why would you send that?!”

“I just assumed she had a pretty voice since you usually got all giggly and smiley whenever you talk to her.”

“I don’t get giggly and smiley!” Immediately, Toothless snorted from the corner after having randomly assaulted him with licks during Jack’s escapades, earning an indignant look from Hiccup. “Thank you for nothing, you stupid mammal.”

“You’ve been chatting with her for how long now? Almost a year? Where’d all that go?” Jack straightened his back and eyed at Hiccup with a raised brow. “I don’t know what happened but after you got back, you’ve been really mopey.”

Hiccup was taken aback by the comment. He didn’t realize that people noticed his slightly more sullen mood throughout the recent months. All he had been doing was trying to keep his distance from Olaf. That shouldn’t have affected his behavior.

“I haven’t been mopey.” Hiccup jerked his head to Toothless when the dog let out another snort. He groaned as he placed his forehead into his palm.

Jack on the other hand wasn’t convinced in the least. His usual amused expression was not present in this particular situation which was surprising.

“Just talk with her. I’m sure it’ll cheer you up.”

“It’s not- I’m not… I… That’s not going to solve anything because there isn’t anything to cheer up.” Hiccup stretched his arms wide. “I don’t know what you think you’re seeing but I’m totally fine.” His phone buzzed in his hand and his expression dropped. Eyeing at the screen of the phone, his shoulders sagged.

“What’s it say?”

“I’m not telling y-”

“I’ll take that phone again.”

Immediately, Hiccup jerked his phone close to his chest and looked at Jack aghast.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Your roommate, remember? Nothing is sacred.” Jack simply leaned his back against the wall with a devious smile as he rested his hand on his head.

“I have a guard dog.”

“He’s on my side.”

As Jack stated this fact, the two of them looked at the animal in the corner of the room. Toothless gave quick glances between the two before he started hobbling his way beside Jack and lying on top of his bed defiantly. Hiccup muttered various insidious remarks along the lines of ‘traitor’ and ‘no fish for you’.

“ _‘Tonight’._ ” Hiccup stated in a slightly defeated tone as his eyes fell back to his phone. “She said tonight…”

“And you’re _going_ to call.” Jack narrowed his gaze as he turned his full attention back to the boy still standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

“I’m- I… can’t. I just can’t.”

“Why not.”

“Because…”

“Why-”

“W-why is this so important to you all of a sudden?” The boy raised his voice as he glared at Jack angrily and scrunched his brows closer.

“Because, right now, you’re not you.” Jack got up and stared accusingly at the brown-haired boy. Hiccup’s eyes widened at the thought.

“Wha- of-of course I’m me. How can I not be me?” Hiccup raised his brow high in disbelief. “You don’t just not be yourself randomly.”

“You’re right. It’s not random. It happened when you got back from Berk.”

Hiccup’s mouth clamped shut the moment Berk was mentioned and this encouraged Jack to press even harder on the subject.

“It’s been, what, two months since you came back? Almost three? Either way, you’ve been really down in the dumps since and it’s really been showing. Heck, even Toothless notices it.” Jack dramatically gestured at the wolf lying on his bed. The large black mammal simply looked at his owner with the large green eyes as it let out soft whines.

What Jack said was true and Hiccup couldn’t ignore it. After he got back from his trip back home, everything that he wanted to happen had happened. He got a lot of time to hang out with both Fishlegs and his dad. He went out significantly more without anyone berating him for some screw up. People were actually acknowledging him and praising him. He even got to spend time with a friend he hadn’t seen in a long time. This coupled with the zero interaction with anyone that bullied him and you would think his summer vacation was perfect.

However, with everything that went right during that little amount of time he spent on that island, it was that one moment that brought him back down to his reality. At this point, he couldn’t even remember the exact words he said to Astrid but he knew the general idea behind them and he knew it was him that yelled it at her. Why, god, why did he yell at her?

Because of that conversation, it brought back everything he had neatly tucked away in the back of his head and all those negative feelings came rushing back. After that, Hiccup couldn’t help thinking that his initial feeling of coming to Burgess to start anew simply wasn’t possible. His past was a two hour boat ride away and he would always have the sinking feeling of ‘Hiccup the Useless’ weighing him down.

Basketball to him wasn’t about the fun or rush of the sport anymore. For a while now, he simply did his best to not be useless. The thought of doing his best suddenly became don’t be the worst. Jack seemed to take notice of it from how he was looking at him right now. Ambition wasn’t the driving force behind Hiccup’s motivation anymore. It was fear.

As Hiccup stood there lost in thought, Jack moved up to him and put his hand on his shoulder. He proceeded to slap Hiccup lightly on both sides of his cheek, waking him up from his daze.

“Hiccup, I know what you’re thinking and I’m going to tell you right now, what happened in the past doesn’t matter. Whatever stupid things people thought about you then doesn’t matter. Right here, right now, you’ve got a roommate that knows you kick ass on the court, a pet wolf that knows you kick ass as an owner, and a lot of people at our school that know you kick ass as a friend.” He backed away and punched Hiccup in the arm as he smiled. Hiccup could only smirk as he looked at Jack and then to Toothless who got up off the bed and leapt to his side with a wagging tail and a tongue lolling happily.

Letting out a light breath, Hiccup let out a few breathless laughs and this caused Jack to smile brightly.

“Thanks…” He answered weakly as he started petting Toothless.

“Trust me on this. Believe in me who believes in you.”

Immediately, Hiccup let out an unreserved laugh as he fell onto his bed while holding his sides. Toothless jumped next to him and started panting happily. “Really, Jack? Gurren Lagann?”

Jack simply shrugged his shoulder and gave a cheeky grin. “Hey, it works, right?”

The two of them chuckled for a moment as Jack fell back onto his bed. He got a buzz and was immediately focused on the text. Hiccup was also looking at his own phone but not for any other reason aside from that little bit of doubt in the back of his mind.

“What if…” Hiccup spoke softly, his eyes still on the black screen. “What if she realizes who I am and all… this… is over.”

Turning his attention away from his phone, Jack looked at Hiccup who looked visibly shaken at the thought. He let out an annoyed huff, grabbing his pillow and chucking it at Hiccup’s head.

“What you’re doing right now isn’t any better than what you’re afraid might happen. If she runs off just because of your name then she’s not a good friend to begin with.” Jack stood up abruptly and brushed off his jeans and went over to his hoodie. “I’ve got a date and you’ve got a call.”

As Jack got himself ready and put on his hoodie, he put his hand on the doorknob and looked at Hiccup.

“Don’t worry about losing a friendship and actually have fun having it.” He gave Hiccup a lopsided smile as he opened the door. Hiccup looked at his roommate leaving and nodded his head understandingly.

“Don’t forget to floss.” Hiccup quipped causing Jack to poke his head just past the door one last time.

“That’s her line. As for you, don’t forget to call.” Jack pointed at the phone and smiled brightly with a thumbs up before disappearing behind the door and closing it behind him.

Hiccup let out a few laughs as he shook his head. He turned his attention to his canine friend who took the liberty of resting his head on top of his lap. Petting Toothless lightly, he picked up his phone and took a deep breath.

Maybe it was time to let the secret out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, progression might happen! *coughmaybecough*  
> But, seriously, I intend for the story to go into full swing soon and people might not be separated by a small little telephone screen for much longer (well, chapter-wise at least). For this chapter, I got to have a little fun with Jack's perspective. If I had to compare myself to anyone, it would be Jack simply for the fact that I'm fairly fun-loving and it bothers me when I can't help a friend when they are clearly bummed out. The story as a whole is really an amalgamation of characteristics of myself and what I've experienced throughout my life.


	13. Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter really dances around with the perspective so it might get a little confusing but bear with it. This was the best way I could do this chapter without constant breaks defining whose perspective is who.

_Chapter 13_

**_Words_ **

Elsa found herself on her bed and cuddled around her little white Chihuahua as she stared blankly at her phone.She felt like the world was growing smaller and smaller as the minutes passed by. Her mind was spinning with various mixed emotions simply waiting in anticipation for the call.

When she got home after attending the basketball team’s practice, she felt an immense amount of glee that felt so foreign to her. There were mixed feelings of happiness and hope just imagining the plethora of conversations she could be having with her friend that had been so distant. It was a wonderful feeling to have.

Then her subconscious started asking questions that she wasn’t prepared to answer. She found herself encapsulated in self-doubt on the subject and it was picking at her psyche mercilessly. Questions she had been asking before were coming back around, and it was making her dread every moment she was waiting.

She had been curious for a while as to what had caused the sudden decline in their communication. She couldn’t pinpoint an exact moment it started happening but it was sometime around the middle of summer. Dragon Rider said he had been sick which was why he stopped calling, but did that mean indefinitely? Did that have to delay text messages as well? Elsa also felt like he spent far less time in the application. At first, he would stay in the chat channel and remained idle for large durations of time, responding back to any message she left with a text or a reply if she was still in the chat. Now, he simply wasn’t there.

It could have easily been explained away by him being busy. Of course he had his own things in his life just like how she had her own things as well. The thought could very well be the answer to her questions and it would have been a reasonable one at that. However, her conscious was anything but reasonable. In some way or another, she wondered to herself if maybe it was something she said that caused him to abruptly end all vocal communications with her, almost all communication period.

Maybe, it was possible that he didn’t enjoy talking with her as much as Elsa did talking with him. That could have been it. Really, why would he want to talk with her anyways? She was an alias named after her pet Chihuahua that he had no knowledge or obligation to. Maybe she wasn’t fun to talk with.

But… their circumstances were the same. Just like how she was an alias to him, he was just as much of an alias to her, even more so. She knew virtually nothing about him when she thought about it. When Elsa thought about it, he knew she was a transfer student, among the top of her class, lived on Berk and went to Berk High School but wasn’t actually from there, and has a younger sister and two pet dogs. Her knowledge of him was far more limited than his knowledge of her. All she knew about him was Toothless and that he played basketball. This was literally all the information she had on him. That and he had one friend from Berk High named Gronkle. Like she’d ever figure out who that was.

With such staggeringly little information she had, why was she so happy when talking with him? What was it about their conversations that she found herself looking forward to the next message whenever it might be. What was this feeling of longing whenever she believed a reply would never come? The idea of hearing his voice again made her so incredibly happy and she didn’t even know him or know why.

_Did he feel the same about me?_

This is what scared her the most. The simple idea that the feelings that she didn’t even know the meaning of were completely one sided, maybe even desperate. Elsa wasn’t sure how to define it. It had been roughly nine months since she first stumbled into his chat room about dragons. She didn’t even know anything about dragons. She only joined because she thought they were really interesting to read about in fairy tales and wanted to know more.

Nine months and she didn’t even have a name. Then again… she didn’t have a name for him either…

As time passed, she was still on her bed, leaning her back against the headboard with a book in her hand and a dog in her lap. Elsa spent her time reading as she waited for the call. _Reading._ It started out as reading but it was becoming more apparent that she was spending more time looking at the phone screen than the actual pages.

Groaning loudly, she tossed the book to the other end of her bed. Pulling Olaf closer to herself, she brought her legs closer to her chest and perched her arms on top of her knees while holding the phone with both her hands. Leering at the device, she cursed silently at it. Why was such a small device so nerve wracking to look at?

Why was it so hard to wait?

**xXxXx**

It wasn’t hard.

_It wasn’t hard!_

It wasn’t- oh, who was he kidding. This was stupendously difficult for him to do. He was dumb. He was an idiot. He was ridiculously stubborn and absolutely scared. What did Hiccup have to be afraid of? Well, in his head, a plethora of things. Resurfacing negative feelings, endless ridicule, a shattered friendship, a lot of yelling, and another reason to not return to Berk. In the grand scheme of things, it was all so small and all in his head. However, his head is what he used to think and the only thing he could think about was this.

“It’s just a phone call. _Just a phone call._ Nothing at all. Only two friends talking on the phone, talking about their lives. It’s... it’s just another one of our conversations. It’s just a... just a...” _-nother note in the locker._

He sat up hastily after lying indecisively in his bed, glaring pensively at the device in his hands. Toothless kept his distant from Hiccup during his turmoil with himself. The wolf knew when to not interfere. Usually, when Hiccup got like this, it would go on for quite a long time, and whenever he tried to approach, Hiccup would simply push him away and say, “Not now, Toothless.” It was one of the few occasions where Toothless couldn’t do anything for Hiccup. The boy was already in his own little world against himself.

“What is wrong with me?!” Hiccup shouted loudly, raising both hands directly in the air as he gripped his phone tightly. It was held neatly between his two palms, thumbs pressed against the screen just above the dials. He was staring at the girl’s number. He was staring at Snow Girl’s number, feeling as though it were staring back at him, judging him.

His whole life, everything was judging him. When you lived on Berk, the first thing people did was judge you. They would take note of everything about you and categorize you, analyze you, and determine your worth on their scale. All his life, he knew his worth in their eyes because they were not afraid to say it to him. They were not afraid to tell him how weak and unworthy he was. Hiccup the Useless, the chant that followed him behind his failures and his shortcomings. No matter how much he strived to rise above it, how much he tried to do more, to be more than what people said he was, the weight of their judgment never stop feeling heavy.

His arms fell to his side, the phone feeling like deadweight pinning him down. Jack’s words were kind and genuine but it was only one voice that honestly had no connection to his life back home. Jack’s word versus all of Berk was an uphill battle. A few kind words of barely a few years against his entire life was already a losing one. He shut his eyes tightly, ignoring the hopefulness once again. He would only crash again.

Hiccup whispered a quiet sorry to Jack as his head fell back onto his bed and his leg flailing helplessly over the edge. He wasn’t strong enough to save this friendship. He didn’t want to chance another failure. If he were honest with himself, she probably wouldn’t even miss him. She’d just as easily forget about him.

_How else am I supposed to find my dragon rider?_

Memory was a funny thing. The brain always has a way of popping something in your head at the most critical times. For Hiccup, this was one of them.

_I expect the Fury out there._

Thuggory...

_They don’t know the kind of guy you are._

Jack...

_Did you really have to leave?_

Fishlegs...

_You’ve grown into a fine young man._

Dad...

 

_It’s been a little quieter since you left._

Hiccup tightened his eyelids, scrunching his brows and clenching his teeth as hard as he could.

_No one really does anything._

He took in a long and drawn breath.

_You made an honest effort to do things._

He brought the phone above his head, looking up to it as the light of his room silhouetted his hand. The backlight of the screen still on and the number still there.

_See you tomorrow, nerd._

_Next time, okay?_

_I’ll talk with you tomorrow._

_Let me know when you fly._

_Call you later._

Hiccup hit the call button. He pressed the phone up to his ear and listened to the rings, his eyes gazing on the light bulb illuminating his room. He was looking at the sun. He was flying into the sun. All he could see was the light. The negative words, the self-deprecating feelings, the endless doubt, and his haunting past, he wouldn’t let Berk hold him back. Instead, he would let the words of his family and friends lift him up as he followed behind the words of a friend he didn’t want to forget.

_I miss talking with you._

_I really like talking with you._

“Hello?”

**xXxXx**

Elsa pressed the phone to her ear, her voice slightly higher pitched than normal when she spoke. It was to be expected. She was anticipating this call for a while now, longer than a while. She was sitting upright, her chest against her knees as she leaned forward, unsure of whether or not she was heard.

“Um, Hello?”

He still didn’t say anything. She was feeling her body tense as she shifted uncomfortably on her bed. Olaf adjusted himself every time she would turn herself. Could he not hear her or maybe he still wasn’t talking to her. Maybe he didn’t want to talk with her. Ever.

“D-Dragon Rider?”

“Hi.”

She felt her breath leave her abruptly, her lips creasing upward. It had been a long time since she last heard his voice. It was calming, reassuring, and alleviated her worries. Well, it alleviated her previous worries. Now, she was worrying about what to say next.

It was only a phone call but she was finding it hard to think of a response. She was finding it really, really hard to come up with something to say.

“I-it’s been a while.” She stuttered for a moment, taking in another breath as she tried to calm herself. “How have you... been?” She asked meekly, waiting to hear him again.

After rising from his lying position, Hiccup placed his right palm on his knee, resting much of his upper body against it as he held the phone in his left hand. Here she was again. Here was the girl that messed with his head more than any other person he’d ever known.

“I’ve been better.” He attempted to say nonchalantly as he took another drawn out breath. “Lot’s been happening, I guess.”

Elsa started shuffling backwards on her bed until her back was firmly against the headboard. She pulled her knees in closer as she rested her head on top of them and wrapping her arm around her legs.

“I remember you talking about it earlier. Basketball has been taking up a lot of your time, right?” She said passively. Thinking back to her conversation earlier, she realized it would be even harder to talk about anything now since they had messaged each other only a few hours ago. A lot of the topics she could bring up were already out the window and she was hard pressed to think of anything else to say.

“Yeah, it has, but that’s not really been what’s on my mind lately.” He responded back which piqued her curiosity.

“Really?” Elsa questioned, now in wonder. “School stuff?”

“Not really that either.”

Now she was getting pulled into the conversation, woes getting pushed aside momentarily.

“Alright, so it’s the guessing game, I see.” She gave a coy smile, her voice chirpier. She heard him chuckle.

“I guess so.” He egged on.

Pushing against her knees and stretching her feet out over her bed, she leaned back against the headboard again and arched her head up to the ceiling. She was curious as to what could be on her friend’s mind. It was actually a fun little game they had done in the past, which had brought about several of their conversations, one of which led to her pancake story.

“Hmm, let’s see...” Elsa pondered aloud as she tapped at her chin. “If it’s not basketball and it’s not school then... what else does my Nerd Boy have?”

“Is that all you think I have.” Hiccup barked a laugh as he leaned himself forward. Her giggle only made him smile brighter as his eyes rested to the carpeted floor.

“Well, no, but that’s what you like to talk about-” Her eyes grew wide in realization. “Oh! I know! It’s Toothless?” Her expression fell as her smile turned to a frown. “Is he okay? Did something happen?” She heard him laugh again before hearing a few snaps of his finger. There was a howl and sudden pattering before she heard some rustling and a few muttered words.

“Toothless is fine. Nothing wrong with him other than being rebellious and traitorous.” He started petting the thick black fur as the wolf started licking his face excitedly. After the show of affection, the black canine proceeded to rest his entire body over Hiccup’s lap and curl onto him. It was obvious that he had free reign over his master once again.

“I feel like everything I hear about him is that he is always plotting against you.”

“Because it’s true.” They laughed with each other at the notion. “But, he does it because he cares, right bud?” He started grooming his best friend. “Also, that’s not it either.

“Darn.” Elsa responded back. She was sure that it was Toothless, considering Toothless was a big part of his life from the stories he would tell her. She went back to thinking about what else Dragon Rider thought about. “Dragons?”

“Nope.”

It seemed too easy if it was just dragons. Well, what else was there that she knew about him? It wasn’t basketball, school, Toothless, or dragons. What more was there?

“Were you thinking about your family or a friend?” She said, feeling some of the tension return to her. She felt the creeping in her thoughts again.

“It is a friend, yes.” Hiccup commented coolly, breathing calmly, remaining composed. He had a lot to say. The guessing game was merely helping him get ready for the words to come out.

Elsa pulled one knee closer to herself again, leaning herself slightly against it. “Is it your roommate?”

“No.”

“Gronkle?”

“Not him either.”

She bit her thumb.

“Meathead?”

“You’re not as good at this as I thought, Sherlock.” He teased followed by a chuckle. She pouted her lips.

“Well, I’m sorry that we haven’t talked as much as we used to, okay?” Her pout evaporated, her eyes wide once again. She felt the insecurity come back again and her heart began to beat faster as the doubt began enveloping her. It didn’t help that he had gone quiet.

Hiccup’s breath remained steady. It was true and it was his fault that it had become like this. This was why he was calling. He wanted to remedy it.

“We definitely haven’t gotten to talk as much as we used to.” He said to her, sounding apologetic.

Elsa blinked in quick succession as she bit at her lip in slight agitation.

“So... it’s a friend, right?” She asked again cautiously, attempting to return the discussion to their little game.

“Yeah.”

“Is... is it a new friend?”

He thought about this for a moment. Was she a new friend? They had known each other for almost a year now but compared to everyone else he knew, she was fairly recent.

“I’d say this friend is new.”

She rose her thumb to her lips and bit it anxiously. Maybe he hadn’t talked with her because he met someone new. Could it be that he was phasing her out and that’s why he had stopped talking with her? She let out a gasp. Could it be that-

“Is this person by any chance a girl?”

“She is.”

Elsa felt her heart stop for a moment. So that was it. He had a new girlfriend. It was all making sense now. Maybe he had met someone over the summer and was spending all his time with her. It was possible that the other girl wasn’t a fan of the odd long distance relationship they had, or he thought it was weird now that the two were together so he was putting a stop to whatever this was. Maybe meeting that person made him realize he didn’t actually like talking with her.

He was going to leave her.

“Oh...” Was all she could say to him, her words coming out low and dejected. She fell sideways on her bed as she curled around herself with the phone still pressed against her ear. She wasn’t feeling very good about what was coming next.

“I’m sorry.”

Elsa stomach lurched as she curled into herself more, only feeling any warmth against her leg where Olaf was sleeping peacefully.

“I know I haven’t been talking with you as often.”

_Go away!_

She felt her eyes watering as she tried to hold them back.

“A lot has been happening and I spent a lot of time thinking.”

_You’re a freak._

She didn’t want to hear it.

“The main reason for that is-”

_How could you?_

Please don’t.

“because-”

_You're a monster._

Stop...

“I’m an idiot.”

What?

“The truth is, I’m not really a confident person, and I wasn’t sure how someone as amazing as you would talk to a nerd like me.”

Elsa blinked back the water that had built up in her eyes. She was staring blankly at the edge of her bed wondering to herself what was going on.

Hiccup, not knowing what was happening, continued on. “The thing is, I’m actually from Berk.”

He was?

“I was scared of the thought of meeting you and what you would think of me.” He exhaled audibly, feeling the burden lifting off his shoulders bit by bit. He finally said it. Though he was still feeling nervous, he took another breath and went on. “I’m not really the kind of guy that you would consider as... popular. Or cool. Or great. Or... anything, really.”

Elsa pushed herself off her bed as she was taking in what he was saying. She was listening to his words in her head over and over again.

_He was thinking about me?_

Taking in one incredibly deep breath, he moved his hand just above his face, letting out his breath and moving his hand forward accordingly to relax himself for the next thing he was going to say. He needed to let it out.

“Because I’m an idiot and scared, I thought it was better to let you forget about some nerdy guy like me. So, I tried to stop messaging you and...” He glanced to the phone against his ear. “- stop talking to you completely. Have you forget about me.”

There was a silence that was far emptier than anything Hiccup had ever experienced or remembered experiencing at least. The quiet tension he was feeling in every aspect of his being was prodding at him from every direction. He finally said it. It was all he could do, right? Say the truth and hope to god she would... what would be the best case scenario? Forgive him? Not yell at him?

Oh boy... He didn’t think this through at all. How in the hell was she going to respond. Sure, he said it all and put it out in the open. That’s all he could do but he hadn’t anticipated what happens next. Oh god, what was the _worst_ that could happen? Hanging up right then and there, maybe? No, the worst would probably her screaming at him or saying he was worthless, useless, or various names that he had grown up with except this time the words would be tied to the him now and not because of the stupid things he had done before. In all honesty, what he had been doing rivaled any of the stupid things he did in the past... combined!

Christ, he was an idiot! Now that he said it out loud, he finally understood how stupid he was being. He finally realized just how idiotic his idea of handling this was. No wonder Jack went to such measures. He probably figured it out before he did. Man! Even Toothless knew how stupid he was.

Only a few seconds had passed since he had spoken the words but his thoughts were running at hundreds of miles an hour and he needed to explain himself better.

“I-I-I know it was stupid. It was _really_ stupid!” Hiccup went on with a shout after being silent for barely five seconds. “I’m-I’m sorry. That’s the thing. I’m not really good at dealing with things so I end up doing stupid things, which is why I thought you might not like me if you met me. For example, this. This was really stupid. I’m sorry. I’m stupid. I’m really sorry. I-I-I’m-”

“So the person on your mind...”

Hiccup’s words were immediately caught in his throat when she spoke.

“-was me?”

He blinked as he looked blankly at the wall on the other side of the room. It wasn’t the response he was expecting nor the reaction he was dreading.

“Um... yeah.” Hiccup answered shyly, thinking about it for a moment. For a very long time now, he was thinking about her.

“I see...”

He could feel beads of sweat fall as he sat there idly, fidgeting frequently to Toothless’s annoyance. The dog continually shifted to get comfortable but Hiccup’s insistent moving proved too much for the wolf as he got up and moved off of his master and to his little corner of the room, resting his head once again to return to his slumber. Hiccup on the other hand didn’t realize any of it as he sat in silence, unsure of what to say now.

“So... um, you said you tried to stop messaging me.” Was all she said to him.

“Yeah...” Hiccup responded guiltily, scratching at his scalp, feeling irritated at his own idiocy.

Elsa found herself seated upright at the side of her bed, her hand gripping tightly on her knee, biting her bottom lip again.

“Why didn’t you?”

It was a simple question. If he was going to really cut her off. Why did he still message her? It would have been easier to stop talking with her altogether instead of gradually taking longer and longer to reply back. She could hear him breathing heavily on the other line before she heard a sigh.

“I couldn’t.”

She was even more confused.

“There was no way I could. I mean, you’re... you. You’re this super cool person who’s funny, smart, and really caring.” He paused for a moment. “I liked talking with you.”

Elsa’s heart skipped.

“I couldn’t stop talking with you because you’re super fun to talk with. I mean, who else can describe a class explosion in extensive detail to the burn marks on the ceiling, or how your sister couldn’t make pancake burritos that only turned into tacos?” She heard him laugh quietly and she felt her already wide smile grow wider. “Who else could I talk to that could divert any conversation about dragons in a matter of seconds.”

Elsa clutched at her shirt as she arched forward, her hair draping over her face as tears started falling from her eyes. She wore a smile so wide it could split the world. All the... _everything..._ she was feeling before vanished like dust in the wind.

Hiccup pursed his lips, feeling ready to say something he believed he would never get to say.

“I...” _like you._ “-like talking with you.” He shook his head. He wasn’t brave enough to say it yet. However, it was a thought that was dancing in his head for a long time. It had become much more obvious in this moment. How strong those feelings were, he wasn’t sure of yet.

Elsa let out a quiet sniffle, rubbing the edge of her eyes, the smile still present as she straightened her back. “You know, you’re an idiot, right?” She said happily with an exasperated laugh.

“I kind of only said I was, like, a hundred times.” Hiccup chuckled nervously.

“You also know that that is probably the dumbest way to deal with your problem and not at all the best way to end a friendship, right?”

“I think I also said that a few hundred times as well...”

“And, you know that I forgive you, right?”

“I know you won’t forgive me for... wait, what?” He said in utter astonishment. Hiccup only heard her giggle.

“Yep. I forgive you.”

“Y-you do? Hold on. You do?!” He almost shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Mhm.” Elsa wrapped her hand around her stomach and started lifting her legs in the air and letting them fall back down lazily.

“H-h-hold on. That-that’s too fast. I mean, I-I- what I did was... It was terrible! And-and you forgive me? Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

Hiccup fell silent, listening to her amused hums. He couldn’t fathom something like this happening at all. It was just... it was just too unbelievable.

“Why?” He said quietly before feeling guilty and nervous and agitated again. “I-I mean, why are you able to forgive me so fast. I can totally understand if you hated me for-”

“I said it before, didn’t I?” Elsa said coolly. “I really like talking with you.” She continued to smile as her head shook side to side. “And, it’s kind of hard to talk with you if I stayed mad at you.”

Hiccup’s shoulders sagged immediately. Technically, it was true, but what kind of reasoning was that?

“Are you sure?” He questioned, still feeling a heavy guilt.

“I am.” She answered back affirmatively. “And, now, we’re even.”

Raising a brow, he couldn’t help but ask. “Even? What even?”

Elsa only giggled again before telling him. “You forgave me before when I had stopped coming in the chat room. It’s only fair to forgive you over this, right?”

His eyes narrowed in confusion. He wasn’t sure what she was referring to. Suddenly it hit him but only grew more confused.

“I- tha-that hardly compares. This is way worse-”

“You forgave me so I forgive you. Simple as that.” Elsa nodded with a grin. “Like you said back then. ‘You had your reasons’. It doesn’t matter anymore because you’re here right now.”

“I-” He didn’t know how to respond to that. It was... yeah... he had no way to respond to that.

“And thank you.”

His eyes grew wide again at the sudden words. “Thank you?”

“For calling.”

His mouth was agape. She couldn’t help but continually leave him flummoxed, could she? He let out a sigh. There was no winning against her.

“You’re welcome...” He said in defeat as his forehead fell onto his arm rested over his knees.

Elsa preened as she fell onto her bed in content. She pulled Olaf up and placed him on her stomach. The tired white bundle of fluff started moving up her stomach to her face and started lightly licking her cheek. She proceeded to pet his head before letting out a yawn. She looked out her window to see that it was well into the night. She looked at her clock to see it was nearly midnight.

“It’s getting late and I need to be up early tomorrow.” She said sadly. “It was really nice finally getting to talk to you.”

Hiccup looked over at Toothless who had not once moved since settling himself in his bed. He wondered where Jack was, considering he had yet to come home even at this hour. He pushed aside the thought.

“It was nice talking with you too. And, again, I’m really sorry.”

“No more of that.” She commanded. “Just get some sleep and make sure to call again.” She smiled cheerfully.

“Will do, milady.”

“Fedora.”

“Henry.”

Elsa blinked a few moments in shock.

“It’s Henry.”

She looked up at her ceiling. It was... She finally had a name.

“Elsa.”

And he finally had hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this was a tough chapter to write. I had so many different version of this chapter and so many ways for it to go about. However, every ending of it was going to lead to the same thing and end the same way. Like I said before, I bounce between perspectives and this made it incredibly difficult to balance and clarify who was speaking and whose thoughts were what. However, I am super happy about this chapter nonetheless. I honestly don't think it could have turned out better. This was a scene I've been wanting to flesh out since the beginning of when I first read "The Queen..." but it never really came together until now. Now that it's done, it should be much easier for me to write moving forward since I've had literally 90% of it mapped out before I finished this chapter. Gonna go ahead and say this is now the current longest chapter and probably my favorite.


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